History of Robert T. Fowler & Sons

Centre Street, Circa 1911

A remarkably detailed black-and-white photo [figure 1] taken around 1911 shows Centre Street as a dirt road with a mixture of wooden and brick commercial blocks. The names, goods, and services of companies long since gone are written on the windows and signs of the buildings. Two men are seen walking past a horse and carriage near Burroughs Street, while a streetcar heads towards South Huntington Avenue. Prominent on the left-hand side of the street is a storefront with a sign that reads, “Anything pertaining to real estate, ask Mr. Fowler. Electrically lighted houses. Notary public.” This was the former location of the real estate and insurance firm Robert T. Fowler & Sons, a family business that has operated in Jamaica Plain since 1905 and is the only business in that photo still in operation today.

Since 1905, three generations of Fowlers have served the Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury, and Roslindale communities for their real estate and insurance needs. Founded by Robert T. Fowler, the firm Robert T. Fowler & Sons has provided real estate, mortgage, auction, appraisal, property management, and insurance services. In 1955, Richard (“Dick”) B. Fowler, a son of the founder, explained to a newspaper reporter that working in real estate came naturally to the family:

I guess that real estate gets into the blood. My maternal grandfather [Roswell S. Barrows] – with whom my father [Robert T. Fowler] broke into the business before opening his own office independently – went into it about 80 years ago in Jamaica Plain, and we have been at it ever since, and still going strong. Even my young daughter, at the tender age of six, on her own hook showed a vacant house we had for sale next to where I lived to some people who came by. The family later bought the house and my daughter was given a bicycle as her first ‘commission.’ She thinks this business is pretty easy and can’t understand why I make so much work out of it. (Unknown newspaper, 1955).

The founder of Robert T. Fowler & Sons, Robert True Fowler, [figure 2], was born on August 9, 1872, in New Haven, Connecticut. His parents were John Strong Fowler, assistant clerk in the Superior Court, and a native of New York, and Julia M. (True) Fowler, who was born in Massachusetts. Robert had one sibling, a sister named Florence S., who was a year younger than he was.

Robert graduated from Yale Sheffield Scientific School in 1894, where he took a course on “electrics.” In a letter he wrote in 1940 for his class history, Robert stated that “When I started to work, I got a job with the local trolley company and worked in jumper and overalls for six dollars a week for a while.” One or two years in, he obtained a job in the Engineering Department of the New Haven Railroad. He was then transferred to the Electrical Department, where he worked until 1900, overseeing construction work that supplied some branches with electric service.

By 1900, Robert met and proposed to Alice Earle Barrows, a native of Jamaica Plain. At the time, Alice was a student at Smith College. Alice left college early, and, on May 24, 1900, she and Robert married in Boston, Massachusetts.

One of four daughters, Alice E. Barrows was born August 12, 1876, in Jamaica Plain to Roswell Storrs Barrows and Maria Louise (Baker) Barrows. She attended West Roxbury High School and then Smith College. As an adult, Alice was active in many civic organizations, including serving as President of the West Roxbury Women’s Club, the Richard Olney Parent Teacher Association, and the Parents Auxiliary of Roxbury Latin School, and as founder and President of the West Roxbury Women’s Republican Club.

After their wedding in 1900, Robert and Alice made short visits with their parents. Then the newlyweds traveled to San Francisco, where they sailed to Hawaii and then to Auckland, New Zealand, where the couple made their first home together. In New Zealand, Robert worked for his college roommate, Jack Gillespie, and Jack’s father at their agency, which purchased and exported Kauri gum for use in making varnish. Robert and Alice remained in New Zealand for three years. In 1904, the couple moved back to Jamaica Plain and resided with Alice’s parents at their home at 32 Burroughs Street.

Robert and Alice had four children together: Elizabeth Barrows Fowler (later Coxe), born March 18, 1905; John Strong Fowler 2nd, born January 1, 1908, who died at the age of six; Robert True Fowler, Jr., born June 3, 1911; and Richard Barrows Fowler, born January 16, 1916. In 1906, Robert and Alice moved their growing family to West Roxbury. They also later maintained a summer residence at The Moors in Falmouth, where the extended family would convene each summer. The Moors was one of two large developments that Robert built on Cape Cod in the 1920s, the other development being the Cotuit Highground.

Upon moving back to Jamaica Plain in 1904, Robert joined his father-in-law’s real estate firm and worked as a clerk. The Biographical History of Massachusetts detailed Roswell S. Barrow’s history in the real estate business:

[Mr. Barrows] entered the employ of the Aetna Life Insurance Company in Boston [in 1869]. After the big Boston fire of 1872, he started in the insurance business for himself, and in 1878 began dealing in real estate, taking over the long-established business of Alden Bartlett in Jamaica Plain; he continued in this line of work through life, one of the best-known real estate men in Boston. He gave special attention to the promotion of the Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury districts and built more than fifty houses. (Biographical History of Massachusetts, 1917)

In addition to selling real estate, Barrows [figure 3] served as an appraiser for private clientele and the City of Boston; the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad; and the Boston Elevated. Barrows was also a newspaperman: In 1881, he purchased the West Roxbury News, which became the Jamaica Plain News; he managed and edited the paper for nineteen years. He was also an original incorporator of the West Roxbury Co-operative Bank and, for 30 years, served as a director and officer, including as vice president.

Barrows operated his real estate firm out of 248 Washington St. and 10 Woolsey Square, Jamaica Plain. An 1895 photograph of the Woolsey Square commercial block shows signs for the Jamaica Plain News Depot and the West Roxbury Co-operative Bank on the building, which meant that Barrows was able to conduct all his business from one location.

In March of 1905, after working for his father-in-law for a year, Robert opened his own real estate business at 5 Seaverns Avenue, Jamaica Plain. Family recalls Robert being gregarious, outgoing, and a real go-getter, so it would have made sense for him to strike out on his own. He called his new firm Robert T. Fowler. “Soon after that, the familiar ‘Ask Mr. Fowler’ slogan was first proclaimed to the public” (unknown newspaper, 1955).

Fowler’s new business dealt in real estate, insurance, and mortgages and provided auctioneer services in Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, and West Roxbury. A historic document framed on the wall of the current office offers a glimpse into the firm’s early days: a 1906 certificate authorizing Robert T. Fowler to issue fire insurance policies for the Pennsylvania Fire Insurance Company.

By September of 1906, Fowler moved his operations into an office at 702 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, opposite Burroughs Street -- the office seen in the ca. 1911 photograph. Fowler also ran a branch office at 2030 Centre Street, West Roxbury, from at least 1905 to 1913, as indicated by articles and advertisements.

Countless newspaper articles have detailed the real estate transactions brokered by Robert T. Fowler’s firm since the early 20th century. For example, a Boston Globe article, from June 13, 1906, announced that Fayette S. Curtis, Vice President of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, purchased a large frame house and land at 9 Greenough Avenue from Livingston Cushing et al., trustees, and stated that “Robert T. Fowler was the broker.” The article claimed that it was “one of the finest places in that section of West Roxbury” (The Boston Globe, p. 2).

An article on the 50th anniversary of the firm illustrated how Fowler and his clients transported themselves to real estate showings in the early years:

The senior Fowler’s first vehicle was a bicycle, and prospective buyers went to see properties offered for sale on trolley cars. It was a year before he owned a horse and carriage, and a full five years passed before he had his own auto, a two-seater chain-drive Mitchell. (Unknown newspaper, 1955)

In 1917, the wooden building out of which Fowler operated, at 702 Centre street, and the wooden buildings surrounding it on that block, were demolished and replaced with a two-story, brick-and-stone building. After it was constructed, Fowler continued to operate from 702 Centre Street, so the company presumably moved into the new building. In 1930, the address of the office changed to 700 Centre Street, but it is not clear if the firm moved storefronts or if the numbering of the units in the building shifted.

In 1919, Robert was elected as a representative to the Massachusetts Legislature, where he served as a Republican:

That year, Calvin Coolidge was governor, and we were in session for a long time, besides having a special session. It seemed to me that it took a lot of time, and I felt that I should not try it again, so I did not. (Robert T. Fowler, letter to Edward W. Allen, July 12, 1940)

An artifact of Robert’s time in office remains in the family -- Stephen (“Steve”) E. Fowler, the current owner of the business, owns a quill that was given to his grandfather by Coolidge in relation to an act that he signed into law.

Robert’s two sons joined his business as real estate brokers when they were in their early 20s. Robert T., Jr. [figure 6] joined his family’s firm in 1934 and became a partner in 1946. His younger brother, Richard B. [figure 10], joined the firm in 1938 after he graduated from Williams College, where he had majored in chemistry. Richard became a partner in 1951.

Richard B. stepped away from the business from 1942 to 1945 to serve in the Navy:

During the invasion of Okinawa, his ship, the USS Shea, was hit by a kamikaze plane. Mr. Fowler was standing just 10 feet from where the Japanese plane crashed but it failed to explode on impact. The kamikaze skidded to the other side of the ship and then exploded, killing several crewmembers. After his discharge from the Navy, he returned to the family business in Jamaica Plain. (Boston Globe, April 20, 1997, pg. 56.)

Beginning in the late 1930s or early 1940s, the family firm began sending out “Ask Mr. Fowler” calendars [figure 7]. Stephen explained that his father, Richard B. Fowler, loved sailing vessels, so each year he selected a different vessel to display on the calendar. (The firm continued buying the calendars until people began relying on the calendars on their phones instead.)

In 1946, Robert T., Jr. became a partner, and the company's name changed to Robert T. Fowler & Sons. That year, the business also relocated from 702 Centre Street to 743 Centre Street [figure 8], a building they purchased a little over a hundred yards away, and where they continue to operate today. 743 Centre Street is a brick, three-story commercial/residential building built in 1875 in the Queen Anne style. It originally housed the Robert Seaver and Co. store, at one time the oldest grocery store in Greater Boston. The building was designed by architect and builder John D. Wester, and is one of the oldest surviving commercial/residential blocks in Jamaica Plain. Wester, a resident of Jamaica Plain (23 Kenton Road), built houses on Sumner Hill and, most notably, St. John’s Episcopal Church, the Gothic Revival church on the corner of Revere Street and Roanoke Avenue.

Around the time Richard B. became partner in 1951, the senior Fowler turned ownership of the business over to his two sons, but he continued to provide them with advice and counsel.

Robert T. Fowler died in West Roxbury on May 22, 1958. Family describes him as being “sharp as a tack” until the day he died. After his death, his two sons continued to operate the family business. By 1960, in addition to real estate, insurance, and auctioneering, the company also provided appraisals and property management services.

The senior Robert T.’s sons were very active in the real estate and banking fields and were civically engaged. In addition to operating the family business, Robert T. Fowler, Jr. worked as an assessor for the City of Boston, and served as a member of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, the Massachusetts Board of Real Estate Appraisers, and the Society of Real Estate Appraisers. He was also a member of the City of Boston Zoning Adjustment Board and the Zoning Commission, president of the Jamaica Plain Merchants Association, a director of the Jamaica Plain Co-operative Bank, and a corporator of the Lincoln Savings Bank. Active in his community, as well, Robert T., Jr. was a mason and a charter member and president of the Kiwanis Club of Jamaica Plain and Forest Hills.

Like his older brother, Richard B. was extensively involved in the real estate field and in his community. Among his many accomplishments, he was the chairman of the Boston Zoning Commission, president of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, and a director of the Brewery Development Corporation of Jamaica Plain. He also served on the board of trustees of the Roxbury Home for Aged Women, was chairman of the Boston Natural Areas Fund, and was a member of the Jamaica Plain Kiwanis Club.

Before computers and databases, the firm needed a way to track properties for sale. Robert T., Jr.’s and Richard’s practice was to fill out an index card for each house that either came on the market or that they appraised. A typical card stated the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in the house as well as its physical condition, with a photograph of the house sometimes stapled or paperclipped to it. Richard would write on the card when the house was sold, to whom, and for how much. “This would kind of take over the office in the course of 60, 70, 80 years – these things were everywhere. [And] this is where they kept them,” Stephen said while pointing to a wooden board with slats on the back wall of the office. He explained, “The different salespeople would have their own row,” and a card would be removed when the house was sold. 

A third generation of Fowlers joined the business in the 1960s. One of the senior Robert T.’s grandsons joined the firm in 1966. He left in 1967 for a job in the computer business.

Alice Fowler died in West Roxbury on April 3, 1963, at the age of 87. On March 26th of the following year, her eldest son, Robert T. Fowler, Jr., died at the age of 52.

Fast-forwarding to the 1990s, a ca. 1995 brochure stated that Robert T. Fowler & Sons was the oldest real estate firm in Jamaica Plain. They prided themselves on being a small, independent firm that strove “to be the best sales agency – not the biggest or most competitive.” They also promised that “telephones [are] handled by people – never an annoying computer” (Ask Mr. Fowler Realtors brochure).

The firm primarily represented sellers in real estate transactions but also aimed to provide excellent service to buyers. They dealt in a range of property sales, including condominiums, residential, multi-family, investment, and commercial properties, as well as land sales. Sometimes a purchase-and-sale agreement conveyed extras along with the house and land, such as the house’s furniture. Stephen even recalls his father, Richard, telling him about a sale that required the buyer to take the cat as well.

On April 17, 1997, Richard B. Fowler died of cancer at the age of 81 in his West Roxbury home. “Despite his cancer diagnosis in 1995, Mr. Fowler continued to work six days a week, eight hours a day – a reduction in his usual schedule – until three weeks before his death” (Boston Globe, April 20, 1997, p. 56). Richard’s wife, Elaine B. (Breare) Fowler, worked at the company for more than 50 years. After Richard’s death in 1997, she became the sole owner until she passed away on July 14, 2015.

Today, the agency, Robert T. Fowler & Sons Insurance Company, is owned and operated by Stephen E. Fowler, the son of Richard B. and Elaine Fowler. Stephen joined the firm in 1994 and continues to work out of the 743 Centre Street office. He discontinued the real estate business in 2015, and the firm now focuses on providing home and auto insurance policies for individuals, families, condominium associations, and small businesses throughout Massachusetts.

On the front window of 743 Centre Street is the familiar “Ask Mr. Fowler” slogan, the same phrase that graced the sign in the ca. 1911 street scene. Though Centre Street is now paved, and many of its wooden storefronts were long ago replaced with brick and stone, Robert T. Fowler & Sons continues to serve Jamaica Plain and its neighboring communities.
By Jenny Nathans
June 2026

Sources

Ancestry.com

Boston Inspectional Services Department

Boston Landmark Commission. Building Information Form, 743-745 Centre Street, Robert Seaver, and Co. Form No. 8895 (1983).

Family and business papers shared by the Fowler family

FamilySearch.org

Interviews with Fowler family members

Jamaica Plain Historical Society, historic maps

MACRIS

Massachusetts Biographical Society. Biographical History of Massachusetts: Biographies and Autobiographies of the Leading Men in the State, Volume VII (1917).

Newspapers.com

Norman B. Leventhal Map and Education Center

Figures

(1) JPHS.org

(2, 6, 9, and 10) Provided by the Fowler family

(3) The Biographical History of Massachusetts, 1917

(4) Ancestry.com, ad from the 1906 Boston City Directory

(5, 7, 8, 11 and 13) Photographs by Jenny Nathans

(12) Obituary of Eliane. B. (Breare) Fowler, from the Robert J. Lawler & Crosby Funeral Home web page