Endicott Estate

The Endicott Estate is a mansion built in the nineteenth century, located at 656 East Street in Dedham, Massachusetts “situated on a 15-acre panorama of lush green lawn that is punctuated by stately elm, spruce and weeping willow trees” (http://www.endicottestate.com/index.htm). It was built by Henry Bradford Endicott, founder of the Endicott-Johnson Shoe Corp. The mansion as it stands today is actually the second estate, as the original burned to the ground in 1904. This was the result of the local volunteer fire department responding to three separate fires burning at the same time, and not being able to reach the Estate in time. This event reportedly inspired Henry Bradford Endicott to build the newest Estate that same year.

According to the Estate’s official website, “It is said that Henry Bradford Endicott took the burning of the homestead as a divine command to rebuild” (http://www.endicottestate.com/history.htm). The Estate remained in the Endicott family until 1967 after the death of Henry’s adopted daughter Katherine, when it was willed to the town of Dedham to be used for “educational, civic and recreational purposes” (http://www.bsaac.com/directions.html).