Newton Theological Institution Historic District

South of Newton Centre's commercial district, Institution Hill holds the campus of the Andover-Newton Theological School and a small residential neighborhood along Herrick Road. The seminary began in 1825 as the Newton Theological Institution, founded by the Massachusetts Baptist Education Society, and is considered the country's oldest Baptist seminary. In 1829 the society bought an 85-acre property including a mansion built in 1790. Farwell Hall (1829, with a third story and Mansard roof added in 1857) was the first permanent building, followed by Colby Hall (1866), a granite Mansard and Romanesque Revival building already listed individually, and Sturtevant Hall (1873). The nearby houses show Italianate, Mansard, Queen Anne, Stick and Colonial Revival design, built for Boston commuters, local entrepreneurs and people tied to the school. The school drew scholars such as Samuel Francis Smith, who wrote the words to "America" as a student. The district is recognized for its role in Newton's educational history and for its 19th-century architecture.