Boston's Oldest House

What is generally believed to be the oldest house standing in Boston has been transferred from one estáte to another for the first time in over 200 years. The property is known as the Wells mansión. The sale was made by the Wells estáte to Mr. A. Ratshesky, a Iíebrew j aire. ■ This interesting relie of the, colonial period, now used for a store and ' ments, bears a strong resemblanoe in its style of architecture to the old Dickens house in London. It is a two story frame strncture, very substantial and likely to last another generation, if not torn down to make room for a modern building. The striking peculiarity of its exterior is that its second story projects six inches or more beyond the walls of the first - a freak of construction that cannot be accounted for on any known ground of practical use or omamentation. The title was examined into by John T. Hassan, who discovered that it had not previously been inquired into since 1681, when it came into the p'ossession of the forefathers of the present comptrollers of the Wells estáte.