Editor’s Note: This is the third in a monthly series that will be featuring some of the historic homes of Lunenburg and is provided by the Lunenburg Historical Commission.
LUNENBURG — “French fries or baked?” What? What have potatoes to do with the Jones House? We’ll get to that later. First, let’s start with the early history of this grand old house in town.
In 1835, the town voted to build a new schoolhouse on the lower common, across the road from the apparently incomplete No. 1 District brick schoolhouse. It was a two-story building, utilized for only five or six years. Older pupils were schooled in the upper room, and primary grades in the lower room. Following much dissention, the brick schoolhouse was completed, paid for, and the wooden building sold to Major Ephraim Jones, who moved it to his property on Main Street. There, it was converted to a dwelling house.
The barn of the Jones’ house previously had been the first town hall, built in 1839 and moved in 1867 from its original location on Massachusetts Avenue. Jones also purchased an additional 17 acres of land for his farm, now extending all the way to Northfield Road.
His son, George Ephraim Jones was also a resident of the property and served the town as a selectman, assessor, overseer of the poor and a fire warden. The town purchased the property in 1945. After falling into disrepair, it was purchased in 2016 and has been beautifully restored by the current owner.
And about the potatoes? Luther Burbank, born in Lancaster in 1849 near the site of rocket pioneer Robert H. Goddard’s launching tower, prior to the area becoming part of Fort Devens. He moved to Lunenburg and into the Jones House on Main Street, living there from 1872 to 1875. It was here that he accomplished his first great triumph in experimentation, the Burbank potato. It is the familiar brown baking potato with which we are all familiar.
The potato launched the plant breeding career of the nation’s most famous plant breeder. In May 1872, Burbank happened upon a ripening seed ball on an “Early Rose” potato plant in his truck patch. From this, he grew 23 seedlings. Each grew with differing characteristics, and he chose two white-tuber plants to develop.
In 1875 he sold his interest in the best white potato to James J.H. Gregory of Marblehead for $150, somewhat less than the $500 he asked. Gregory allowed Burbank to keep 10 tubers for his own use and did the honor of naming the new potato the “Burbank.” Burbank used the money to finance his move to California, where he spent the rest of his life and earned his international fame.
Eight biographies have been written about this historical figure, the most recent in 1985. Interestingly, while a resident of Lunenburg, he was the Lunenburg correspondent for the former Fitchburg Sentinel. Even after his move to California, he was known to submit articles of interest to the local newspaper.
His potato became an instant success because it was high-yielding, uniform, of high quality and that it stored well. By 1900, the commercial value of the Burbank potato was $17 million annually. While the original potato is still grown, its “sport” (genetic mutation), the “Russet Burbank” became the basis for the Idaho and Washington potato industry.
Understandably, The Jones House is often referred to as the “Burbank House.” Rightfully so, for within its walls and spread over its land lives the spirit and history of Luther Burbank and his famous potato.
“Just an old house?” We think not.
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The Jones House: Not just an old house, but one connected to growing of ‘Burbank’ potato - Sentinel & Enterprise
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