To spot the Henry G. Brownell House, just look ahead for a grand white, wood-frame building with a steep gambrel roof, front porch with big round columns, and a proud American flag waving out front.
Now, imagine the year is 1893 and the scent of fresh paint and cut lumber fills the crisp Taunton air. Here rises the Henry G. Brownell House-an absolute beauty of a home, with its sweeping gambrel roof, stately chimneys, and a grand porch just begging for a rocking chair or two. You can practically hear the echo of footsteps on its wooden floors and the chatter of grand parties under glittering chandeliers. Built for Henry G. Brownell by the talented L.M. Witherell, this house quickly became the envy of the neighborhood-a masterpiece of Colonial Revival style. Its windows gleamed with Palladian elegance, and those paired pilasters? They stood like silent sentinels through every season. Fast forward decades, and the house plays host to the lively Elks Lodge, echoing with laughter and the toasts of good friends. But, as if out of a twisty old novel, the house’s story ends in 2014 when it’s replaced by a Walgreens, and its elegant past becomes a memory in the whispers of the wind. Wouldn’t you love to have seen one of those Elks Lodge gatherings? Maybe even snuck in for a dance! History sure knows how to throw a curveball, doesn’t it?
