Save Ballou's house

I read with interest of the plans to erect a new dormitory on Talbot Avenue. As a former Tufts student and now staff member, I know well the housing shortages Tufts has faced, both from personal experience (I lived in a miserable forced triple in Wren Hall as an undergraduate), and my professional work at Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. I also know that the university has limited options in where to situate new construction. However, I want to point out an important part of Tufts history that would be lost if this project goes forward as planned.

The article in Monday's Daily correctly points out that the house at 20 Professors Row (the current music department building) was once the residence of Hosea Ballou 2nd, first president of Tufts. But it was more than that. Ballou House, as it came to be known, was built by the College especially for Ballou in 1854 and is, in fact, the oldest wood-frame house on campus. At a time when Ballou Hall, then known simply as the College Edifice, was a stark protrusion on the top of the hill that was dotted by new-planted saplings and tangled grasses, Ballou House was the second structure built at Tufts, and was an integral part of the Tufts landscape. College Avenue had not yet been laid, nor Packard. Professors Row was a track that circled the base of the hill only as far as 72 Professors Row. Ballou House stood near the current president's residence, a classic New England farmhouse, with a small ell off the back and a barn and chicken coop behind.

The house was moved to make way for the construction of Packard Avenue

after Ballou's death. It continued to serve as a residence for faculty and administrators. For many years it was the home of Leo Rich Lewis, composer of many Tufts songs, including the Alma Mater.

At a time when the built environment of colleges and universities is often described by the catch phrase 'bricks and mortar' it is easy to forget that the architectural heritage of schools like Tufts was built in wood. There was a time when Professors Row truly lived up to its name, lined with wooden homes built and occupied by faculty. Most of these structures have been replaced by more 'enduring' brick houses. Ballou House is one of the few remnants of that earlier era. As plans move ahead for further improvements to the campus, more of these houses are slated to be lost, including 80 Professors Row (Zeta Psi now, but once Shipman House, another faculty home).

More than just an address, this house is a part of the history of Tufts. Can it be saved?



Anne Sauer (LA '91, G '98)

Assistant Archivist, Digital Collections and Archives