Above, the first Larches. It burned in May 1909. See more on the fire at the bottom of this page. In 1916, the garage and stable burned. See clipping below. Hannah Draper Osgood, George Otis Draper’s aunt, had purchased the house about a month before the 1909 fire.
There’s a bit of Larches trivia in the article above. For a while at least, maybe just while the Townshends lived there, it was called Hillcrest. Hannah Townshend was Fanny Osgood‘s twin sister.
The Larches. Claude Snider is to the left of the man with his back to the camera. Draper president Tom West is at the same table, on the right.
The caption says after the fire, the house was rebuilt to its original design. You can see the original design in the two pictures at the top of this page. That house burned in 1909; not 1908 as the caption says. George Otis Draper had sold it to his aunt, Hannah Draper Osgood, and the fire occurred not long after she purchased it. What is there now is what she had built, and it certainly isn’t anything like the original design. I don’t have the date for the Milford News clipping, but it was the Rockwell era – the late sixties or the seventies. Here’s what Anne Foster Day wrote about that: “That would have to be late 60’s for sure. I lived right across the street and can remember going to the Page’s quite often. We left ‘Hopedale in 1972
This Google Earth view shows the Hopedale/Milford town line passing through The Larches. I’ve often heard that although Hopedale was a “dry town,” alcohol could be served there because the bar was on the Milford side. The Hopedale water tank can be seen at the lower right.
The Larches
The mansion on Williams Street that straddles the Hopedale-Milford line was originally known as The Larches. It was named for the larch trees that can still be seen on the grounds. The first home there was owned by George Otis Draper, a son of General William F. and Lilla Draper. “Otis” sold it to his aunt, Hannah (Draper) Osgood, in 1909. Within a month the house burned down. (See Milford News article on the fire near the bottom of this page.) The house that’s there now was soon built and Hannah and her daughter, Fanny Osgood, moved in. Both Hannah and Fanny died in 1929. The Hopedale street listing for 1930 shows George Draper Osgood, 42, Fanny’s brother, living there. (By 1939, and perhaps sooner, George was living at 50 Greene Street, the home of Dana Osgood, later known as the Harel House.)
Alexander Scammell was born at this site in 1744. He was named Adjutant General of the Continental Army at Valley Forge by his friend, General George Washington. He was mortally wounded at Yorktown, the last American general to die in the Revolutionary War. (This information came from Dick Grady. Click here for more.)
By the 1950s, The Larches had become a Draper Corporation inn. Visiting businessmen could stay there, and as the fourth photo shows, there was a restaurant. As I recall, families could purchase memberships at The Larches, and one of the benefits was the use of the pool. Marge Horton recalled the Draper years at The Larches as being a time of elegant parties and events. She said that the Milford National Bank would hold its Christmas parties there every year, and that it was also the site of wedding receptions, and formal dances. The Fecteaus, who operated the cafeteria at the Draper shop also ran the kitchen at The Larches, and Marge said that the meals there were excellent.
The Larches is now the site of Community Clubhouse, a rehabilitative community offering opportunities and support in employment, education and housing for adults with mental illness. Following the “Clubhouse Model” of rehabilitation, the program emphasizes work, participation and choice. Participants are members, not patients, and the focus is on their strengths, not their illness.
“In that crumpled up shot of the dining room is my father! He is looking to his left at something Tom West has (hidden by the man back-to). I can’t place the 4th man at the table, but you might have a candid of four Draper executives there!” This identification, referring to the fourth picture, was sent by David Snider. His father was Claude Snider.
The last four pictures show the second home on the site. The one taken from the air was shot before the water tower was built in 1948-49.. The one above the newspaper picture was taken in 2006.
Here’s more on The Larches, from a Milford Daily News article, printed in 1978.
The Larches, a status symbol of residents in the 50s, has become the property of Dr. Vincent J. Arone, who plans to use the property for a residential educational facility for special children. The property was the home originally of George Otis Draper and was destroyed by fire on May 21, 1901. Following the fire, the property was purchased by Hanna Thwing (Draper) and Edward Osgood. The year was 1914 and the couple erected a new home on the Water Street hill, spending their summers at The Larches and their winters in Boston. The building which Dr. Arone purchased is the one constructed following the fire.
The Osgoods lived at the corner of Hopedale and Draper streets prior to purchasing the large parcel of property upon which they constructed the large, beautiful home. The Osgood’s Hopedale and Draper street property is now the land upon which the Community House is located. Mrs. Osgood was the sister of General Draper, Governor Draper and George Albert Draper. The couple had a daughter, Hannah Osgood Townsend, who occupied The Larches after her parents. After that, the property became a private club, with membership limited to Draper officials and top ranking department heads and their families. During the early 50s, those who belonged to The Larches and had use of the facilities, including the spacious swimming pool, were looked upon as upper class residents. The status somewhat disappeared as Draper Corporation divested itself of its holdings and finally, its business and as The Larches became used as the residence of Robert Page, who was president for Draper Division, Rockwell International and the use of the facility was no longer open to outsiders. The Larches at one time also served as an inn, providing lodging for visiting Rockwell personnel. In recent years, the estate has gone unoccupied and unused.
Dr. Arone, who operates a residential educational facility for special children from all over the country, at another former Draper estate on Adin Street, plans to expand his facility at The Larches. Dr. Arone has operated the Adin Street school for more than 20 years. The Larches property includes a large parcel of land and when Rockwell announced the availability of its land holdings, several contractors were eyeing the land for housing developments.
The two mansions changed ownership on two successive days late in June. According to the office of Larkin Real Estate, The Larches was sold on June 27 and The Crossways was sold on June 28. Virginia Cyr, Milford Daily News, July 10, 1978.
Peg Sweeney and the Boston Celtics at The Larches Now and Then Menu
