A hitching post where riders would tie their horses.
Photo undated. Published in The Madison Historic Preservation Manual, 1990.
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Stop Twenty-Two

BROUGHTON HALL (BROUGHTON-SANDERS-MASON HOUSE)

Directly across the street and fronting both Academy Street and Old Post Road is Broughton Hall, built in 1850. Identical Italianate porches adorn both faces of this home though the house sits closer to Old Post Road.


In the early twentieth century, a sweet, gentle lady known to her neighbors as “Miss Dena” lived here as a recluse. She allowed the trees, shrubs, and boxwood to grow unattended for so long that the yard looked like a dark jungle. It was a scary adventure for the paper boy, who lived across the street, when he went to collect. However, he soon learned not to fear the lady or her jungle as she often invited him in for cookies.


When C.R. Mason, Sr. bought the place, there was a great change: everything was repaired and painted, all the bushes were cleared, and the shrubs were pruned. The boxwood were so severely cut back that neighbors thought they would die, but survive they did. Mrs. C.L. Mason, who was in her late 80s, made the place a thing of beauty inside and out. The house was sold in the 1990s and the new owners made many changes, including adding the tennis courts and the semi-detached garage.

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