North Easton, MA – Forest Systems announced today that it has established a home base at Queset House, a historic building located in North Easton, Massachusetts.
North Easton is a small town 20 miles south of Boston that is known for its rich industrial, architectural and land conservation heritage. Queset House is located on Main Street in the town’s historic village section. It is surrounded by hundreds of acres of conservation land and is in close proximity to Borderland State Park, one of the largest conservation areas of its kind in Massachusetts.
Queset was built for the family of Oakes Angier Ames, the president of the Ames Shovel Company. Two noted architects conceived the building. Andrew Jackson Downing built the front of the house in 1854 and John Ames Mitchell oversaw the construction of the rear in 1872. Fredrick Law Olmsted, the designer of New York’s Central Park and Boston’s Public Garden, worked on the grounds. Queset is one of several buildings in the area upon which Downing and Olmsted collaborated and North Easton is known in architectural circles as a mecca for Gothic revival and naturalist landscape architecture.
"When you are in the forestry business, you must have an appreciation for places that have cultural and historical significance because that appreciation is the foundation of the value system that underlies your land stewardship ethic," said Richard N. Smith, President of Forest Systems. "I hope that our presence at Queset House, and our honoring its significance to this community, will be seen as a reflection of how we manage the forests for which we are responsible."
The original owners of Queset House, the Ames Family, were prominent industrialists, philanthropists and public servants. Their company was known for manufacturing the finest shovels in the world. The Ames Shovel Company was established in Bridgewater, Massachusetts in the 1770s and was moved to Easton in the early 1800s. The town was chosen as the company’s base of operations because of its significant water and bog iron resources, which were used in its manufacturing processes, and its abundant hardwood timber, which was used to produce the strong, flexible handles for which the Ames’ tools were known. The company relocated to West Virginia in the 1960s and is known today as the Ames Lawn and Garden Tool Company. Its corporate archives are located in Easton at nearby Stonehill College.
The Ames Family was directly responsible for managing and financing the building of the Union Pacific transcontinental railroad in the mid-1800s. They also were the initial financiers of the General Electric Corporation. They are remembered locally for their civic generosity and high-minded public spirit. Over the years, the family has provided Easton with many of its public buildings, including its town hall and library. They also helped preserve thousands of acres of land for public recreation and conservation. Descendents of the family still live in town and are actively involved in community affairs.
Forest Systems, which employs a highly decentralized management and operating structure, will utilize Queset House as a home base. The building will house a small complement of employees as well as some communications systems and infrastructure.
School groups and community organizations are welcome to tour Queset House upon request by calling 508 230-0402.