Blaze engulfs 186 Summer Avenue, as firefighters battle intense heat and heavy smoke for over 12 hours; no injuries reported
A devastating fire early Tuesday morning reduced one of Reading’s most historic properties to ashes. The home and barn at 186 Summer Avenue—both listed on the National Register of Historic Places—were fully engulfed when firefighters arrived. The structures, tied to the legacy of Robert Kemp and the nationally touring Father Kemp’s Old Folks singing troupe, stood as rare examples of high-style Italianate architecture. Despite the intensity of the fire, no injuries were reported.
The following article is part of a series on the Summer Avenue Historic District Walk of Reading by Virginia Adams and Virginia Blodgett
186 Summer Avenue
Father Kemp’s Place – (Two National Register Properties – the house and the barn) Robert Kemp formed a boot and shoe business in Boston, called Mansfield and Kemp.
In 1853, Mansfield bought 10 acres on Summer Avenue and sold part of it to Kemp. Kemp then bought an additional 12 acres and tried his hand at “gentleman farming” while still commuting to Boston to work. In one year, he harvested 225 barrels of apples. He formed Father Kemp’s Old Folks, a local amateur singing group. Their first concert was held at Lyceum Hall on December 6, 1856. They were well received and continued their concerts before trying one in Boston.
It was a success, and the Tremont Temple was packed. Ten more concerts followed before the troupe went on the road to New York and Washington, DC. While in the New York Academy of Music, 6,000 people listened to their singing, and in Washington, they sang to President Buchanan, his cabinet, and the Congress. In 1858, they traveled to the western states and also met President Lincoln in Connecticut. In 1861, they visited England for an eight-day tour. Most of the troupe were from Reading and included Roswell Temple (198 Summer Avenue).
In 1868, William Hawes owned the property. Mr. Hawes started a dollar store in Boston, only the second such store in the country. His daughter, Augusta, married Frank Dewey, son of the owner of the next house on the tour.
The home and barn are both high-style Italianate. The house has windows with shouldered architraves, a veranda with pierced Gothic columns, and a roof supported by paired brackets. It is one of the few houses in Reading that has a surviving cupola. The barn was carefully designed and embellished to match the house.
Description from the Reading 350th Anniversary Book “At Wood End“
186 Summer Ave. (ca. 1853) Italianate
Built in 1853 for Robert Kemp, this is one of the high-style Italianate houses in Reading. A two-and-a-half-story house, it has shouldered or eared architraves, a veranda with pierced Gothic columns, a belvedere, and a roof supported on paired brackets. An exterior chimney has detailed terra-cotta rosettes.
Kemp, who formed a boot and shoe business in Boston, bought part of the land on Summer Avenue from his partner, Mansfield, in 1853. He built this house and commuted to Boston while he tried gentleman farming on his 12 acres. “Father Kemp’s Old Folks,” a singing group that he founded with local amateurs, performed locally and in England. Due to financial trouble, he sold his house in 1868 and later built at 199 Summer Ave.
Kemp was the author of two books and served on the School Committee, where he helped promote music education.
