" Several of these houses were still standing in 1825; in
1855 only a very few remained; while only one, so far as we know, has
come down to us to-day and is yet even well-preserved, namely, the Old
Corner Bookstore, on the corner of the present Washington and School
streets.
This old house teems with historical associations, past and present.
Under its roof Mrs. Anne Hutchinson was wont to hold her Antinomian
_seances_, under the very nose of Governor John Winthrop, when
"over against the site of the Old Corner Store dwelt the notables of the
town,--the governor, the elder of the church, the captain of the
artillery company, and the most needful of the craftsmen and artificers
of the humble plantation; and at a short distance from it were the
meeting-house, the market-house, the town-house, the school-house, and
the ever-flowing spring of pure water."
The Old Corner Store is supposed to have been built directly after the
fire of 1711. It is an example of what is known as the colonial style of
architecture, and is thought to be the oldest brick building now
standing in Boston. Upon a tablet on its western gable appears the
supposed date of its construction, 1712.
[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF W.
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