27 Somerset Road

This house, along with its neighbors at 33 and 39 Somerset, was in the first group built on this street. In fact, the building permits for these three were issued under the earlier street name of Blake Road East. 

Carpenter and builder George Horn (1873-1965??), who founded the Horn Brothers construction company in 1900, built this house for his family. He and his wife Anna (born c1878) were both born in Denmark. Anna came to the U.S. in 1880 and George in 1893. They were married c1904.

The Horns had two sons, both of whom followed in their father's footsteps. The older son, Frank W. Horn, became an architectural engineer. He lived at this house with his parents until 1939 or 1940. He and wife Emily returned to become the owners, or at least residents, of the house, at the end of World War II.

The second son, G. Arthur Horn (1911-2001), was associated with his father's company for many years. He also founded Horn Packaging Corp., a manufacturer of corrugated cartons in Ayer; and Horn International Packaging and Forwarding, an export crating company in Billerica. Described in his Boston Globe obituary as "a versatile engineer and inveterate tinkerer," he built submarine lookout towers during World War II and later constructed landscapes for the lunar module and Tyrannosaurus Rex exhibits at Boston's Museum of Science.

Members of the Horn family lived in this house until shortly after World War II. The 1930 U.S. Census listed the residents as: George H. Horn, 57, builder (contractor), born Denmark; Anna W. Horn, 52, born Denmark; Frank W. Horn, 23, engineer (architectural); and G. Arthur Horn, 19. The house was valued at $17,300.