For sale: 18th-century homes with original beehive ovens

Find charming details from the past in these Marlborough and Stow homes.

475 ELM STREET / MARLBOROUGHHandout

$799,900

475 ELM STREET / MARLBOROUGH

SQUARE FEET 3,436

LOT SIZE 0.48 acre

BEDROOMS 5 BATHS 2

LAST SOLD FOR Unknown price in 1980

PROS Dating to 1725 and expanded around 1800, the Jacob Rice Homestead charms with original wide pine floors, built-ins, and nearly 300-year-old wood beams. From the side entry, pass a laundry room and updated bath into the kitchen, where the original fireplace with crane arm and beehive baking oven steals the scene despite stainless appliances, island, and double sinks. Formal dining and living rooms with fireplaces flank the entrance hall, which features decorative painted floors; two bedrooms round out the first level. Upstairs, three bedrooms and a sunny office loft share an updated bath. CONS There’s a stone patio and fenced yard, but the highway hum of I-495 breaks history’s spell.

The showpiece of this updated kitchen is its original fireplace with crane arm and beehive baking oven.Handout

Richard Wilcox, Distinctly New England, 508-922-3499, [e-mail]

$1,100,000

6 SUDBURY ROAD / STOW

6 SUDBURY ROAD / STOWFrank Byrne/Real Digital Network

SQUARE FEET 3,582

LOT SIZE 1.14 acres

BEDROOMS 4 BATHS 3 full, 1 half

LAST SOLD FOR $565,000 in 2000

PROS Built circa 1710, the Randall-Hale Homestead has original wide pine floors, hardware, and eight fireplaces. A living room and den flank the entry hall, and the rear dining room fireplace has a crane arm and beehive ovens. The family room has a vaulted ceiling with exposed beams. The bright, remodeled kitchen features soapstone and wood counters, stainless appliances, and nearby laundry room. A dining area features a wood stove, window bench, and French doors to the grounds — which include a brick patio, fruit trees, gardens, stone walls, three-story barn, and a guest house with wood stove and sauna. Upstairs, four bedrooms and an office share three newer baths. CONS Steep stairs.

The kitchen fireplace is one of eight in the circa-1710 Randall-Hale Homestead.Frank Byrne/Real Digital Network

John Petraglia, Petraglia Real Estate, 508-864-0583, [e-mail]