House and Garden 
as indicated by the date on one of the chim¬ 
neys, in 1730, by Nehemiah Davis, a prom¬ 
inent early settler, as a simple cottage, 
on his then extensive estate, to which he 
was constantly adding. In 1793 this es¬ 
tate passed into the hands of Hon. George 
Cabot, who was chosen United States Senator 
from Massachusetts in 1791, and by him it 
was given the name of “Green Hill” and the 
addition of the front with its columns run¬ 
ning up two storeys, making a large parlor on 
the first floor, and various chambers on the 
second floor. Then the house began to as- 
mass of the whole which makes it all so at¬ 
tractive to one tired of the over-enriched 
and over-detailed houses of today. 
It is supposed that Stephen Higginson, Jr., 
a later owner (1803), added the bay windows 
on the sides, besides making other internal 
improvements, and in 1806 he sold this 
house with part of the estate to Captain 
Adam Babcock for $6,500. Madame Bab¬ 
cock, who probably was responsible for the 
fine old garden existing at that time, spent 
much time in beautifying the grounds. In 
the chronicles of the Brookline Historical 
From a water-color drawing by the Author 
A HOMELIKE FACADE COMPOSED OF SEVERAL ADDITIONS 
sume more of the pretensions commensurate 
with the dignity of the new owner, and its 
character became at once that of a suburban 
mansion rather than a modest country farm¬ 
house. 
There is a noticeable lack of architectural 
detail; what there is, being such as any good 
carpenter of those days might have drawn 
out for himself on a board or shingle. The 
columns of the veranda are square, with a 
slight chamfer, and they support the roof 
without a capital, or any part of an architrave 
or frieze. It is this rude simplicity and the 
Society occurs this passage, which gives 
some idea of the quaint old garden once a 
glory to the estate, and of which there now 
remains but few traces :— 
“ Being very fond of flowers, Madame 
Babcock’s attention to her garden was unre¬ 
mitting, and the wide walks, coated with fine 
red gravel, that were laid out around the 
western portion, were bordered on each side 
with continuous beds of bright blossoms, 
among which were gay and various colored 
rows of tulips, and the large clusters of 
single and double white narcissus shone con- 
