Anna Harris Smith Study Report

The Boston Landmarks Commission has posted a study report on the proposed designation of the Anna Harris Smith House in Dorchester as a Landmark under Chapter 772 of the Acts of 1975, as amended.

The Anna Harris Smith House at 65 Pleasant Street in Dorchester is historically significant at the local, state, and regional levels for its association with the prominent Clapp family, including Anna Harris Smith, the founder of the Animal Rescue League of Boston. Smith (the granddaughter of Samuel Clapp, who built the house) was born in the house in 1843 and lived there until 1908. Under Smith’s leadership, the Animal Rescue League of Boston grew into a widely impactful institution which became a model for humane societies across the country, and which continues today to serve communities throughout Eastern Massachusetts.

The Smith House is also architecturally significant to the city of Boston as the best-preserved example of a five-bay by two-bay Federal-style vernacular house in Dorchester. It was built in 1804 by Samuel Clapp and is one of the oldest surviving houses in Boston.

If designated, the Standards and Criteria in the study report will serve as guidelines for the Commission’s review of proposed changes to the property, with the goal of protecting the historic integrity of the landmark and its setting. The designation would not regulate use or alterations to interior features.

Read the Anna Harris Smith Study Report

There are two ways to provide feedback on this potential Landmark designation:

1. Written feedback can be provided by visiting this link: feedback form.
2. The study report will be discussed at a public hearing on June 24, 2025. Members of the public are invited to attend this hearing and provide comments there as well. Please look for the hearing notice in the public notices section of our website. Hearing notices are posted no later than ten days in advance of the hearing.