Marion Old Post Office – Ryder Cottage // c.1830

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Built around 1830, this little cottage is among the many photogenic buildings found along the idyllic Main Street in Marion, Massachusetts. The structure is said to have been originally located behind the Congregational Church and moved to its current location after 1855. By 1879, the structure was converted to a residence and owned by Ms. Sarah Ryder, then the widow of John C. Ryder. The vernacular cottage is sheathed in weathered shingles, which enhances its beauty and connects it architecturally with the coastal community.

Ryder Windmill House // c.1899

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Preservation and New England ingenuity at its finest can be found at this quirky residence on Spring Street in the charming community of Marion, Massachusetts. The unique home seen here was originally built around 1899 as a water tower and windmill on the estate of William H. H. Ryder (1841-1921), which generated power from the wind to pump water from a well below ground, providing a continuous supply of water to his residence. The structure was in use until 1907 when municipally supplied water became available in town. When William Ryder, who never married or fathered children died in 1921, the property was inherited by his niece, Harriet C. Ryder (1869-1943), who lived with her uncle and kept house for him. Financial struggles forced Harriet to sell the main house and convert the windmill into a small cottage in 1926. The structure was originally used as a summer cottage but was later expanded and made a year-round residence, with later owners maintaining the unique charm and form of this iconic local landmark.

Cape Cod Railroad, Marion Station // c.1855

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The Marion Railroad Station was built in about 1855, around the time of the arrival of the first passenger rail service to Marion, Massachusetts, a new town which incorporated just three years prior. While no train service runs through the town today, historically, the community was well-connected to Boston, Cape Cod, and towns all over the South Coast of Massachusetts. The Fairhaven Branch Railroad was incorporated in 1849, chartered in 1851, and built from 1852 to 1854 to connect Fairhaven with West Wareham and lines beyond in Cape Cod and Boston. This station was built by the time the line opened and it stands as a larger, two-story Victorian station which serviced the area’s passenger and freight travel here. The New Bedford and Taunton Railroad bought the line in 1861, which too merged into the Old Colony Railroad in 1883. As use of rail travel declined, passenger service ended in Marion by 1935, followed by freight service in 1953.The former station was sold to private owners and since 1988, has housed a childcare center. Despite the second story addition and later renovations, the building still retains its unique character and bargeboard detailing.


Ward Parker Delano House // c.1780

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During late 18th and early 19th centuries, the rise of the coastal schooner trade and whaling ushered in a long period of prosperity for coastal towns in New England, which continued unabated until the Civil War. The War of 1812 provided many Marion sailors and sea captains with the chance to experience life at sea with privateers papers issued by the United States government, these captains went to sea in their schooners to hunt down British ships, plundering them like pirates. One of these captains was Ward Parker Delano (1819-1867), who lived in this house overlooking Sippican Harbor. The house likely dates to the mid-late 1700s and was probably originally built by his grandfather, Captain Stephen Delano (1749-1821). Under subsequent owners in the Delano family, the home was modified on numerous occasions in styles popular at the time until the early 20th century when it was Colonialized, which added the portico, gable, and dentils, possibly by Ward Parker Delano II (1851-1915) or his son, Ward Parker Delano III (1883-1940) descendants, who summered at the old family home, and were both prominent architects of the early 20th century.

Captain Luce & Captain Bates House // c.1790

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Reportedly built in 1790, this stately Federal period residence on Main Street in Marion and overlooks the sheltered harbor sharing strong connections to the sea. Known colloquially as the House of the Two Captains, this residence was built as a double house and known for its connections to sea captains, Elisha E. Luce (1786-1850) and Noble E. Bates. Captain Luce moved into this house shortly after his marriage to Jane Hiller, daughter of a local Deacon. Particularly note-worthy is the main facade’s center entrance, which exhibits unusually fine surrounds, including fluted Doric pilasters and a pediment enlivened by dentils. Inside, the house is said to have hidden passages behind a large fireplace. The captains used part of the house as a crockery and supplies store. Captain Elisha E. Luce’s best-known ship was the Persia, which made numerous profitable trade missions to the Far East. This house was also the birthplace of the Universalist Church in Marion, when during the early 1830s, Universalists met in Captain Bates’ half of the house to organize a religious society and plan the construction of the church. The Luce and Bates families co-owned this house until the mid-19th century and the residence remains one of the finest in the harbor village. 

Hadley’s Store – Ryder-Harwood House // c.1806

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This late-Georgian style residence on Main Street in Marion’s Wharf Village is a stone’s throw from the harbor and has been conveniently located near the town’s Long Wharf since it was constructed around 1806. The building was constructed as a store for A. J. Hadley, where ships were outfitted for voyages. While Hadley’s store occupied the eastern half of the first story, the left side of the ground floor was Marion’s first post office. The second floor served as a clothes-making factory with the top floor operating as a sailmaker’s loft. By 1855, the structure was converted to a residence and owned by Sumner Ryder, who served as the Town Clerk and later joined the ranks of the Union Army during the Civil War. During the early 20th century, the property, with its widow’s walk, was owned by members of the Harwood family, including Ms. Sarah W. Harwood, who lived here with Margaret French (1860-1935) who was listed in the Census for decades as her partner, housemate, and boarder. 

Marconi Wireless Telegraph Station Employee Hotel // 1914

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Tucked into the woods in Marion, Massachusetts, the Marconi Wireless Transmitter Station stands as one of coastal New England’s most remarkable and now largely forgotten technological landmarks. Built in 1914 by the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company, the Transmitting Station in Marion served as an important piece of the American half of a transatlantic relay system, sending powerful signals across the ocean to a receiving partner in Stavanger, Norway, through a sister station in Chatham. At the height of its operation, the site bristled with fourteen 400-foot tubular steel masts arranged in a rectangle stretching nearly a mile, a feat of engineering so audacious that contemporaries dubbed it a “wonder of the twentieth century.” The station in Marion included a cluster of buildings including: a powerhouse, an operating building, cottages, and an employee “hotel” pictured here that housed unmarried staff, were all built to service the towering steel structures, of which only one remains. The site was taken by the U.S. Military during WWI and WWII and later sold to a private owner and the property was subdivided and sold-off with the majority of the original 144 acres of land comprising the station donated to the Sippican Lands Trust in 1986. Scattered remnants of equipment remain on this mostly-wooded conservation land, including wires, concrete mast footings, and cables. The single remaining tower serves as a cell tower today. The old Employee Hotel is now used for offices.

Handy’s Tavern – Sippican Woman’s Clubhouse // 1812

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In 1812, a recently married Caleb Handy (1782-1855) built this house in the main village of Marion, Massachusetts, to serve as a residence and tavern to supplement additional income. The tavern provided lodging for travelers on the nearby stagecoach route and those who docked in the nearby harbor. Within a year of the couple moving into their new home, Caleb’s wife Sophia died unexpectedly. She was 22 years old. Within two years, Caleb married his late wife’s sister, Mary Dexter, and the couple had nine children together. The property was inherited by their son, Benjamin Bumpas Handy (1822-1897), a former sea captain who would later move west and help settle Mound City, California (now known as Loma Linda). In the 20th century, the property was purchased in 1923 by the Sippican Woman’s Club, who renovated and restored the building, holding events and meetings inside to this day.

John Pitcher House – Old Parsonage, Marion // 1813

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Known as the “Old Parsonage” this historic house in Marion, Massachusetts, was built in 1813 by Capt. John Pitcher (1788-1867) around the time of his marriage to Catharine Clark. John Pitcher was the brother of Elizabeth Pitcher Taber, a major benefactor of the town of Marion. The residence is unique in that the primary facade is actually facing away from the street, with the prominent three-story facade being the historic rear of the home. The Federal period house sits on a raised stone foundation with a central door and shingle siding above. Behind his home, a large pasture was grazed by sheep and cows until the land was sold off and subdivided for residential development later in the 19th century. When Capt. Pitcher died, he left his house to the Congregational Church, which used it as a parsonage for many years until 1966, when the church sold the property to Lawrence P. and Edith G. Pangaro, who co-founded the Marion Sentinel and the Sippican Publishing Company. The home was recently renovated.

Look-Coggeshall House // 1828

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Believe it or not, this beautiful home was once a one-story Cape house and given its present appearance in 2003! Built in 1828, the Look-Coggeshall House sits on the idyllic Main Street in Marion, Massachusetts, and was constructed for Captain Hiram Look (1803-1865), a sea captain, and his new wife Kezia within a year of their marriage. They had two daughters, one of which, Amanda, would inherit the family home with her husband, Bernard Coggeshall, who shows up in the census at varied times as a: tin peddler in 1870, huckster in 1880, a dealer in stoves in 1900, and as an owner of a hardware store by 1910. Old photos of the house show the original four-bay Cape form before the house was given its second story in 2003. The designer did an excellent job to preserve the door surround with transom, lintels and maintain the window spacing, with the addition of a band between the floors which visually depicts where the original roof began.

Cobb-Luce House // 1841

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This beautiful side-hall Greek Revival style residence on South Street in Marion, Massachusetts, was built in 1841 as a parsonage for the Marion Congregational Church, built that same year. The first pastor to reside here was Rev. Leander Cobb, who assisted his father, Rev. Oliver Cobb, who had been preaching in Marion since the completion of the first meeting house in 1799. After Leander Cobb’s death in 1873, the church decided to sell this parsonage and it was purchased by Rev. Cobb’s second wife, Selina, who sold it to George Luce (1825-1893) a master mariner. In 1960, the property was sold to local historian and founder of the Sippican Historical Society, Olive Hiller Somers (1890-1967). The residence was renovated and retains much of its original architectural integrity.

Marion Congregational Church // 1841

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Built in 1841, the Congregational Church in Marion, Massachusetts, is a stellar example of a mid-19th century ecclesiastical building designed in the Greek Revival style that represents the town’s evolution and prosperity through today. During the 18th century, area residents had to travel all the way to Rochester Center on Sundays to worship as this village was a part of Rochester until 1852, when it set off as its own town. Instead of keeping the Wampanoag name Sippican, meaning ‘land of many waters’, the people of present-day Marion chose their name in honor of General Francis Marion, a Revolutionary War hero from South Carolina who became a celebrated military leader during the American Revolution. The original 1799 Meeting House was replaced by this handsome structure, when ten Marion sea captains each contributed $1,000 towards its construction. The church’s completion in 1841 marked the beginning of the nine year co-pastorate of Rev. Oliver Cobb and his son, Rev. Leander Cobb at the height of prosperity for the coastal community. The church is characterized by its boxy, rectangular form with its primary facade treated as a portico in antis crowned by a closed pediment and the iconic multi-stage clock tower which remains an important landmark in town.

Old Marion Meeting House – Marion General Store // 1799

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Tucked into the heart of Wharf Village, the main village in the charming coastal community of Marion, Massachusetts, this building which is known today as the Marion General Store, wears its history quietly beneath a deceptively simple Greek Revival facade. The structure was constructed in 1799 as Marion’s first Congregational Meeting House, where religious services of the congregational church were conducted before the separation of church and state. The construction of this wood-frame building did more than give the faithful a place to worship, it anchored Wharf Village as the commercial and civic center of town, setting in motion the currents that would eventually set Marion off from its mother-town, Rochester in 1852. By the 1830s, the old meeting house was in poor condition, and along with the push for a separation of church and state and tax dollars no longer going to the Congregational Church, a grander Greek Revival church was built across the street. The Old Meeting House was also renovated in the Greek Revival style and operated as Delano Hall, a store with dance hall and meeting space on the upper floor. The building lives on today as the Marion General Store, with its old clapboards and pilastes holding the layered history and architecture of the seaside community that grew up around it from working port town to wealthy coastal village.

Leventhal House // 1949

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An early and distinctive example of an architect-designed Modern/International style residence, the Leventhal House in Newton has been lovingly updated and restored by owners since it was built in 1949. Boston-based Modernist architect, Samuel Glaser, designed the jewel-box Leventhal House for Muriel and Norman B. Leventhal, founder and chairman of The Beacon Companies, a developer and manager of office buildings, housing, and hotels in the Boston area. The Leventhal’s were also collectors of historic maps and in 2004, partnered with the Boston Public Library creating the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library which make many historic maps available for research. The Leventhal House stands on a steep rise at the base of Oak Hill and was built soon after the adjacent 1946 Kaplan House designed by Walter Gropius and the Architects Collaborative. The property has been recently restored by Flavin Architects, who did an exceptional job to modernize this early Modern home for 21st century living, while staying true to the significance and architectural qualities of the 1949 design.

Stone Farmhouse // c.1724

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One of the oldest extant homes in Newton, Massachusetts, can be found in the Oak Hill section of town on Dedham Street as a 18th century farmhouse with central chimney. This area was settled by members of the Stone Family as far back as the 1600s. The house is said to date to at least 1788 when it was owned by Ebenezer Stone (1757-1800), but given its form and historic map documentation, it is likely that the home dates to 1724 when the property was owned by Jonathan Stone. The farmhouse remained in the family for generations until it was sold out of Stone family in the 1880s. By 1919, the property was owned by Pietro Volante (1881-1953) a gardener and produce dealer, who built several outbuildings on the property and added porches to the old home. The property was formerly set back farther off the street, but was moved to its current siting and restored in 2017, to allow for a separate dwelling to be built behind. The old Stone Farmhouse was landmarked by the Town of Newton to preserve this important property.