John Hancock's former home can be yours — said to be the sole relic from the American Revolution still standing in downtown Boston

New York Post

17-07-2025

You can use your John Hancock to buy John Hancock's former house.
A highly pedigreed property in the heart of central Boston is on sale for the first time in half a century, the Boston Globe reported. The pre-Revolutionary War building has a lot to brag about — it was built by that founding father, used to stash silver for the Continental Army and housed the country's oldest continually run shoe store.
Moreover, the Ebenezer Hancock House is thought to be the sole surviving house from the Revolutionary period still standing in downtown Boston, the Globe reported.
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It's certainly the only one you can buy.
8 The Ebenezer Hancock House.
Courtesy of Flylisted | LandVest
8 John Hancock, who signed the Declaration of Independence and served as the first governor of Massachusetts.
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The brick edifice was built in colonial times around 1767 by John Hancock, the founding father known for his outsized signature on the Declaration of Independence. Hancock's lesser-known brother, Ebenezer Hancock, lived and worked in the home as a deputy paymaster for the Continental Army.
The paymasters were responsible for funding American troops, and Ebenezer's home served as their wartime headquarters. Two million silver crowns loaned by the King of France in 1778 were stored in the house, according to the Boston Landmarks Commission, before they were distributed to soldiers.
The 5,748-square-foot property is the only remaining Boston building associated with John Hancock. Hancock sold the property to a local merchant in 1785, according to city records, and his personal home was demolished in the 1800s.
8 A law firm has owned and preserved the building for half a century.
Courtesy of Flylisted | LandVest
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8 The house contains some of the best preserved historic interiors in Boston.
Courtesy of Flylisted | LandVest
8 A large hearth features an antique mantel and a beehive oven.
Courtesy of Flylisted | LandVest
LandVest listing agent Dave Killen told The Post that the 50-year stewardship of the property's current owners, the law firm of Swartz & Swartz, has prevented modernization or conversion.
'There's nothing like the Ebenezer Hancock House that I've seen in terms of the level of authentic carpentry that goes all the way back to its original construction,' said Killen.
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The property spans three floors. Raised wood panel work and trim on the second floor remain original details from Hancock's construction. Other historic details include exposed beams, wide-plank floors and an oversize hearth with a beehive oven.
Killen, who specializes in unique and historic commercial properties, called the property 'the best surviving example of later Georgian interior architecture in the city.'
8 Exposed wooden beams on an upper floor.
Courtesy of Flylisted | LandVest
8 Exposed beams and wide-plank floors span the property.
Courtesy of Flylisted | LandVest
8 A former tenant of the historic house pictured in 1973.
Boston Globe via Getty Images
Killen declined to disclose why Swartz & Swartz is selling the property or discuss prices, but the city of Boston most recently assessed the property at $1.65 million.
The Ebenezer Hancock House is protected as a historic landmark, but its next owner doesn't need to turn it into a monument. Flexible mixed-use zoning means its buyer could feasibly live on the premises — with city approval, of course. Shops, boarding houses, taverns and private clubs have all occupied the Ebenezer Hancock House over time.
'We're engaged in a very deliberate search to find the right fit,' Killen said.