Colonel Charles A. Ranlett House
Colonel Charles A. Ranlett House
The colonel, grandson of Captain Charles A. Ranlett, is remembered in Billerica as an outstanding equestrian who fought in World War I. He was a familiar figure at Memorial Day Parades riding one of his fine horses. As late as 1933 he would gallop from Billerica to Boston on his yearly trip to inspect the youthful marchers from the Boston schools. In later years, the Colonel contributed many articles on hunting and fishing to nationally read magazines. His valuable collection of firearms included several which were used at the Battle of Lexington and Concord.
The main portion of the building has many Greek revival features as is witnessed by the placement of the windows and front entrance on the South side of the facade. The porch attached to the west wall of the home appears to have been refurbished and quite possibly enlarged. To the rear of the porch, ells extend to the west and to the east of the main structure. Since the ells make a perpendicular cut throught the building, it seems plausible to assume that the main portion of the house extending toward Concord Road was appended at a later time. The windows in the ell on the west are surmounted by a delicate arch which is in contrast to the linear framing used on the remaining openings. The section of the home to the rear of the ell on the west side is obscured from the street but supplies access to a single story passageway to the carriage house which has vertical siding different from the clapboards on the remainder of the structure. This garage is capped with a cupola. Further to the east, a modern addition has been added.
In 2019, the house which had been in considerable disrepair, was demolished. There are plans to construct two houses on the property, with the one closer to the street promised to be in the Greek revival style seen in the original house.