203 Berkley St

ADDRESS: 203 Berkley Street Street
BUILT: 1918
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE: “Maytown” Sears Home

Edward Berkeley purchased land in 1871 in the Ashland District beside the Town of Ashland. The lot at 203 Berkley Street is one of the original seven Berkeley family lots that were subdivided from his estate in 1894. Long considered part of the Ashland area, the land officially became a part of the Town of Ashland in 1977. Lot 5 is 203 Berkley Street.

Charles Pillsbury Shelton bought this house in 1937 from James K. Cox who purchased it at an auction. From tax records, it appears to have been built about 1918 by the previous owner, John Coleman. In 1918, its assessed value was $40 for the 3+ acres of land plus $1,000 for the improvements.

The house is a Sears, Roebuck & Co. home – The Maytown, Modern Home No. 167. This pattern appeared in the Sears’ Book of Modern Homes and Building Plans from 1911-1913 and then again from 1916-1922. It cost between $645 and $2,038 to build and could be built on a lot 28′ wide. Sears describes The Maytown as “a well-proportioned house which affords a great deal of room at a low cost. It is very popular in all sections of the country.” It featured a turret, a full front porch, a front door with beveled plate glass, and a semi-open staircase.

Pillsbury Shelton married Virginia Ann Henry in 1926. Pillsbury grew up in Ashland and died in 1984. Virginia was born on September 8, 1905, on the Wickham plantation in Hanover. She worked for many years as a nurse and at her death in 2014 at age 108, she was one of Ashland’s oldest citizens.