Scotland Painters — Western Bridgewater

The name goes back to early settlers who, according to a 1974 local history by Charles E. Simmons, called the land west of the creek after their homeland. The Massachusetts Historical Commission's 1981 town survey records Scottish natives settling here in the early 18th century and describes Scotland as a farming settlement in the Federal period. Scotland Cemetery, off Pleasant Street, dates to 1753, and the Trinitarian Congregational Church was organized in Scotland in 1821.

That same survey listed Scotland among four places in town with nearly intact historic resources, identifying its intact resources as Federal-period. It noted at least one center-chimney, hip-roofed Federal house here, along with modest sidehall Greek Revival cottages. It also warned that development pressure in the Scotland area was intensifying, with suburban growth especially around the Route 24 junction with Route 104, though it credited the bypass with preserving the district. Route 24 arrived in 1956, and the Bridgewater Archive credits it with turning Pleasant Street into the town's main thoroughfare.

Census Block Groups 1 and 2 of Tract 5251.01 cover Prospect Street and the Pleasant Street corridor west toward Pine Street. They take in more land than the district itself, so read their numbers as a rough guide. Together they hold 2,064 housing units. About 21% were built in 1939 or earlier, well above the 11.9% for Bridgewater overall, yet about 30% went up in 2010 or later. Roughly 56% are single-family detached houses, and about a quarter sit in buildings of 50 or more units.

Two-century spread on one road

The same two block groups count 434 units from 1939 or earlier and 626 from 2010 or later, so the right prep can change completely from one address to the next. An older clapboard wall with peeling paint needs scraping and spot priming. On a newer house, the job depends on what the siding and trim are made of, and the coating has to match that material. See exterior painting in Bridgewater for the siding types around town.

Federal and Greek Revival trim

The houses the 1981 survey describes here, a hip-roofed Federal house and sidehall Greek Revival cottages, are defined largely by their trim. Where original trim survives, repainting should keep its profiles sharp rather than burying them under more layers of paint.

Lead-safe work on the older half

About 44% of units in these block groups predate 1980. Any paid work that disturbs paint on a pre-1978 home falls under EPA's lead renovation rule, inside and out. Our lead-safe painting page covers containment and cleanup.

Large apartment buildings in the mix

The census counts 521 units in buildings of 50 or more units in Block Group 2, with a median build year of 2006 there. If you own or rent a unit in a managed building, check the association's or landlord's rules before painting. Details are on condo painting in Bridgewater.