Living history: Oliver Estate welcomes public to events

MIDDLEBORO -- Benjamin Franklin slept here.

John and Abigail Adams ate dinner.

And centuries later, residents from Middleboro and beyond are spending time at the historic Oliver House, lending their presence to a piece of living history tucked away off Plymouth Street.

Through programs offered at the estate, they have sipped tea, made  Christmas cookies, created artwork and soaked in one of the state’s most historic Revolutionary homes.

Members of the Middleboro Tourism Committee are hosting a growing number events at the site. Spending time at the house brings visitors back in time.

You can’t re-create history,’’ said Leilani Dalpe, chair of the tourism committee., which oversees the property. “When it’s gone, it’s gone.’’

The historic home dates back to 1769, when it was built as a wedding gift for Dr. Peter Oliver Jr. by his father, Chief Justice Peter Oliver.

The home would play a vital role in early American history, although not in the way its owner might have liked.

The house quickly became a gathering place for prominent colonial leaders during the Revolutionary Era, including Franklin and the Adams family.

But tensions built because the Olivers were loyal to England and the king, beliefs that did not endear them to Revolutionists who sought independence.

In February 1775, a mob led by Rev. Sylvanus Conant forced the family to flee permanently.

The Commonwealth confiscated the estate, inventoried every item inside, recorded the contents with Plymouth County Probate, and auctioned both the furnishings and eventually the property.

That gave future historians an exact listing of the contents and valuable information about that time.

Funds generated from confiscated Loyalist estates, including the Oliver Estate, helped support the Revolutionary government.

So the estate ended up funding a Revolution that its owners did not support, one that led to American independence.

The home eventually ended up back in the Oliver family. They purchased the house in 1945 and sold it to the town in 2013.

Two hundred fifty years later, the house is lively again. Its most recent event is a Parisian tea Sunday, Aug, 30 from 1 to 4 p.m. The event will feature a chance to paint the Eiffel Tower on a canvas and a spread of tea sandwiches and sweets.

To help these events, the committee is reaching out to the community for donations of items such as vintage teacups and saucers, kitchen appliances such as a commercial dishwasher, refrigerator, stove and oven.

Volunteers are invaluable, Dalpe said.

The Oliver Estate works in partnership with Middleboro Parks Department, Mayflower Masonic Lodge of Freemasons and DeMolay, Massachusetts Master Gardeners, Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School and Cranberry Country Chamber of Commerce.

The estate hit a major milestone, Dalpe noted with pride, with a wedding scheduled next year on the site.

A house built as a wedding gift centuries is now hosting a wedding, living proof of the circle of history.