Origins
The site's recorded history began about 1637 when Gov. John Winthrop built a house there. Around 1692, this house was replaced with a more imposing brick structure standing 2½ stories high and one room in depth, with exceedingly thick walls. On December 26, 1732 Isaac Royall, Sr., a slave trader, rum distiller, and wealthy merchant of Antigua, purchased the house and 504 acres (2 km²) of land along the west bank of the Mystic River in what was then Charlestown (annexed to Medford in 1754). He extensively remodeled the house between 1733–1737, adding a third story, encasing its east facade in clapboard, and ornamenting the exterior with architectural details and continuous strips of spandrel panels. Royall also constructed outbuildings in 1732, including the only known slave quarters to survive in New England today. After this construction, Royall brought 27 enslaved Africans from Antigua. In so doing he doubled the enslaved population of the community.
Read more about this topic: Isaac Royall House
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