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The Louis Cabot Cottage was built in 1895. -
Original spindle woodwork on the stairs and railings in the front hall of the Louis Cabot Cottage. -
A garden bench at the Cabot cottage. -
The view through the front entry toward the living room. -
The dining room table was passed on from the previous owner. -
The Louis Cabot Cottage in Dublin. -
The view to the south over the pool. -
Martha-Reed and John Murphy renovated the old servants’ kitchen. -
The traditional-style living room runs the width of the house and opens onto the screened-in porch. -
A second-floor guest room. -
Martha-Reed and John Murphy bought the dining room table, which can seat 18, from the previous owners. -
The Cabot cottage in late spring. -
Adirondack chairs facing the view to the southeast. -
The house and gardens on the south side. -
The screened-in porch on the east side. -
The downstairs bathroom with “library” wallpaper. -
The “baby’s room” at the Louis Cabot Cottage. -
The Cabot cottage has been the site of community fundraisers and events. -
The eat-in kitchen designed by architect Dan Scully was renovated to include a fireplace. -
One of seven bedrooms in the Cabot cottage. -
A fireplace in a third-floor bedroom. -
A third floor guest room is a favorite of the Murphy children. -
A small second-floor bedroom was converted to a bathroom, complete with fireplace. -
The matching red chairs were thrift store finds. -
The Louis Cabot Cottage as it looked around the turn of the century.
The Murphy family are only the third owners of the Louis Cabot Cottage, a home built by Boston Brahmin Louis Cabot in 1898.
The cottage, located on a knoll off Pierce Road in Dublin, has views to the southeast of the entire Wapack range, from North Pack in Greenfield to Mount Watatic in Ashburnham, Mass.
The home also has a view of Monadnock to the west.
Louis Cabot’s cousin Edward Clarke Cabot designed the house in traditional shingle style, which was popular for the summer cottages of wealthy New Englanders at the turn of the 20th century. Louis Cabot originally purchased 2,000 acres surrounding the home, as well as a barn that was considered to be one of the largest barns ever built in Dublin. The Cabots owned the home for 50 years.
“We had to take the barn down when we bought the house,” said owner Martha-Reed Murphy. “It was absolutely beautiful, but it was in such disrepair it was just falling apart, and it would have taken hundreds of thousands of dollars to restore it. When we started to take it down, it just kind of went ‘poof.’ The stalls were all lined with mahogany, and we saved those and gave them to someone nearby who had horses and could use them for his barn.”
The Murphys bought the house from Elizabeth Olney Taplin, a widow and retired Army colonel who was originally from Ohio.
“Her husband, Ben, had died. Ben was such a gentleman, such a sweetheart. He put on a suit and tie every day to go down to the Dublin Store to get the newspaper,” Murphy said.
Murphy recalls the Taplins’ “palace rug” in the living room, which ran the whole width of the house.
“It was from Sotheby’s, and it must have been 30 feet long,” she said.
Both Taplin sons came back to visit the house and share their memories. The Taplin family also owned the house 50 years.
“I don’t think we’ll own this house for 50 years, because we’ll be dead,” Murphy joked. “But hopefully, our kids will.”
The house has been a beloved summer home for the Murphy family since the mid-1990s. In that time, the home has hosted a wedding, numerous family gatherings and one graduation party, which Murphy described as “a rager.”
“They sure had fun,” she laughs.
Murphy and her husband, John, first came to Dublin to visit their friends Wendy and Michael Crowley, who they had met in California. The Crowleys, longtime summer residents of Dublin, invited the Murphys to visit many times in the early 1990ss. For three years, the Murphys rented another shingle cottage known as “The Bat House” at the western end of Dublin Lake, and fell in love with the area.
“Then one time, we were visiting the Crowleys, and this house came on the market, and Wendy said we had to come see it,” Murphy said. “As soon as we drove up the driveway and saw it, my husband said, ‘Oh, bleep,” because he absolutely loved it! He said, ‘Oh, this is bad, this is really bad,’ because he knew he really wanted it.”
The Murphys bought the dining room table and several sets of dishes from Elizabeth Taplin.
“This table is amazing; it has so many panels, it just gets bigger and bigger. And I was so grateful for all the dishes,” Murphy said. “I was worried about damaging the table top, but Mrs. Taplin said ‘Don’t worry — it’s polyurethane. You could pour boiling water on it!’”
Upstairs, one small bedroom was converted to a spacious full bath, complete with a fireplace.
“One of our guests said, ‘Martha-Reed, that was taking a bath in the living room,’ ” Murphy said.
Another bathroom tucked away on the third floor and originally used by the staff has an oversized enamel clawfoot tub.
“We have a friend who is 6-foot, 4-inches, and he said, ‘Martha-Reed, this is the best bathtub I have ever used in my life,’” Murphy said. “We have no idea why it’s so big. I’m always a little afraid that if we completely fill it with water, it will fall through the floor.”
Murphy credits the late Clayton Wilcox of Marlborough with hanging the wallpaper throughout the house, including the “library” wallpaper in the downstairs bathroom.
“He was just a wonderful guy. He has a severe limp, and he was elderly, but he climbed up and down those ladders, and he just did an amazing job. He was just a dear man, and he cared about getting it right; he cared about other people,” she said.
The Murphys bought the Cabot cottage when their children were around 11 and 13 years old. Over the years, a servants’ wing was removed, and the Murphys made a few minor changes to the main house. They worked with architect Dan Scully to renovate the kitchen, and added a fireplace next to the breakfast table. The living room was originally two rooms, with glass panels separating the two spaces.
“You never know exactly how a space will work until you live in it,” Murphy said.
Murphy has enjoyed furnishing the house over the years with finds from tag sales and thrift shops, and with help from her friend Wendy Crowley, an interior designer. The house still has a 20th century feel, with antiques and vintage items.
“We can’t wait to get here every summer. We just wish summer was longer,” Murphy said. “This house just has my heart.”