12 Franklin Street Condominium
Though much reconstructed, the base house on this property was constructed around 1830. The fisherman Joseph C. Brazil owned the place in the early 20th century. Mary A. Towne (b 1908), an assistant manager who was active in the Catholic Daughters of America, lived here at least from the 1950s through the 1980s. It is now a three-unit condo. • Historic District Survey • Assessor’s Online Database, Unit 1 • Assessor’s Online Database, Unit 2 • Assessor’s Online Database, Unit 3 ¶ Posted 2012-12-25
Mary Towne lived in the house till her death at the age of 96 which was in the early 2000s.
The story is that she was a ward of the state. She was left on the steps of the town hall in Fall River or New Bedford. She was brought to Provincetown to work as a young girl, and the Brazil family took her in. She was an amazing woman who encouraged us in the early years of our renovation of 11 Franklin Street. She made wonderful kale soup, and often joked that she didn’t really know if she was Portuguese or Italian.
Her nickname was the Mayor of Franklin Street, but we considered her the queen!