305 Elm Street - John O'Donnell home

John O’Donnell bought this lot in 1892 for $350, and soon after built this house in the Queen Anne style. The house is dominated by three gables with sunburst motifs. The wall treatment has both horizontal siding and imbricated shingles. The pedimented porch with balusters is proportioned to the house and may be original. John O’Donnell was a superintendent in the Franklin Board and Paper Company and later owned a cement mixing company. The family owned the house until late last century. The 1910 census shows O’Donnell, his wife Harriet, and their six children living here. One of the O’Donnell sons was working in the railroad office. The dark earth tones of the current paint scheme may closely resemble the type of colors that would originally have appeared on this house.