Sportsman Macomber last week collected $125,000 fire insurance on Raceland, his home and track in Framingham Centre, Mass., announced he will rebuild.Excerpt taken from a Times article dated Monday, Aug. 25, 1930. Macomber did indeed rebuild the mansion but using more fire-resistant materials like brick and mortar. It is still standing today. John R. Macomber was in the finance business. He was President of Harris and Forbes Co., a financial company that specialized in the marketing of municipal bonds. He later became President and then Board Chairman of the First Boston Bank (now part of Crédit Suisse), a New-York based investment bank. He must have loved his animals because he arranged a trust that would take care of them after his death. He apparently also had an interest in automobiles because Raceland was the location for the first VMCCA (Veteran Motor Car Club of America) auto meeting in 1939. After the death of Macomber in 1955, the property was managed by his estate manager, Adnah Neyhart. When she passed away in 1971, the MSPCA (Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) took over. In the 80s, it was known as the Macomber Farm, a place to learn about farm animals. The property was later sold to real estate investors. If you go there today, the residences in the "old" Macomber Farm are quite few and expensive.
A bird's eye view of the area around the old Macomber estate. Thanks to googlemaps.
The Raceland estate ca 1951. The building right above the 'ac' of Raceland is the mansion (with built-in stables). Thanks to USGS.
The "new" mansion viewed from above. Thanks to googlemaps.
The stables at Raceland. The wood used was mahogany. To be perfectly clear, the stables were part of the mansion where Macomber lived. The wooden structure burnt in 1930 and was recuilt. Thanks to Images of America, Framingham.
