John Harris House & Farm (Allandale): National Register of Historic Places Materials
Tenant’s Cottage
According to Nina Fletcher Little, the John Harris House was built in 1788, but it was probably built by John Harris before that. Harris was a farmer and a deputy sheriff.
At one time, Mary and Edward Brandegee owned the property, whose large mansion still overlooks the house. At the time of Brandegee ownership, the John Harris House was a caretaker's cottage, and the entire estate was called Faulkner Farm, named for the Faulkner family, which owned land in this area in the early part of the 19th century.
Today, the house is part of Allandale Farm, the only working farm in Brookline and Boston. The farm's acreage encompasses land in Brookline and Jamaica Plain; until 1968, the land was still privately farmed, but after that date, it became a commercial enterprise. Although the farmhouse and one of the barns have been dramatically altered, some outbuildings, including another barn, numerous sheds, and a tenant’s cottage, remain relatively untouched.