Bennett Library, Billerica // 1881

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In the late 19th century, Eleanor Richardson Bennett (1794-1891), the widow of Joshua Bennett (1793-1865), bequeathed funds to erect the first purpose-built public library building in her hometown of Billerica, Massachusetts. A private members library known as the Social Library, was formed in Billerica in 1772, but Ms. Bennett wished to gift the town a public facility of learning in memory of her late husband, a prominent landowner in the West End of Boston and one of the richest men in Middlesex County. Eleanor Bennett hired the Boston firm of Rotch & Tilden, to design the new library building overlooking the Town Common. Completed in 1881, the Victorian Gothic library is built of brick with limestone trim, and features a large rose stained glass window, intricate terracotta and wooden detailing, and a slate hipped roof with a pointed spire. The library was eventually outgrown and the facility relocated to a new building, and again to the former Town Hall building in 2000. The former Bennett Library is still owned and maintained by the town as an event space available for rent. The building has been restored through Community Preservation Act funding.

Asa Hill Farmhouse // c.1825

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The Asa Hill Farmhouse in Billerica, Massachusetts, stands as a rare extant Federal style residence constructed of brick in the community. Asa Hill (1798-1874) was born in Billerica and in 1822, married Susan Lawrence of nearby Concord. The couple purchased land near his childhood home and had this two-story residence built to raise his family and farm the land. The couple raised four children here and operated a small farm until they moved away in their later years. The Asa Hill Farmhouse is constructed of brick laid in common bond and is notable for its center entrance with arched fanlight transom and sidelights.

Abbott-Bowers House // 1796

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The Abbott-Bowers House at on Boston Road in Billerica Center was built in 1796 and stands as a significant Federal period residence in town, though suffers from deferred maintenance. The building was constructed for James Abbott, a merchant who likely operated a store from the street-side entrance. The property was owned later by Jonathan Bowers, the first Postmaster in Billerica and his home served as the Post office for over 100 years. Many other organizations and committees have also been run out of the building. The residence is five-bays wide on all elevations and has a hipped roof with tall end chimneys and what appear to be the original windows. The building recently sold and is planned for a new commercial use, hopefully with a restoration of the exterior.

Former Billerica Town Hall – Billerica Public Library // 1895

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Located on the edge of the Town Common in Billerica, Massachusetts, this handsome civic building stands as one of the community’s best examples of the Colonial Revival style. The building was constructed in 1895 to replace the mid-19th century Town Hall that was destroyed by fire in 1893. The community hosted a design competition, where prominent firms from the Boston area submitted designs, and ultimately selected the plans from the firm of Warren & Bacon, led by Herbert Langford Warren and Lewis H. Bacon, who had a short-lived business partnership lasting just one year. The symmetrical, two-story brick building is trimmed with limestone and capped with a gray slate roof. The facade is embellished with a Palladianesque arched loggia sheltering the entrances with a centrally placed Palladian window above on the second floor. Additionally, the roof is adorned by a Christopher Wren inspired cupola with a gold leaf dome capped with a weathervane. The building functioned as the Town Hall with offices and a grand hall on the second floor for city meetings until the town hall relocated in 1979 to a former school building. Since 2000, the former Town Hall of Billerica has housed the Billerica Public Library, which was formerly located in a smaller historic building nearby.

Manning Manse // 1696

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The town of Billerica was originally settled by colonists in 1640, but the area west of the Concord River was not settled until after 1690. This saltbox Colonial house built around 1696 is believed to be the oldest house in town west of the river. The residence was built by Samuel Manning (1644-1711) as his homestead. Between 1752 and 1800, the Manning family operated a tavern out of the rear portion of the house. In the later years of the 18th century by the family of William Manning, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, who after the war, began to believe that his military service meant little to the American ruling class. He wrote the anti-Federalist ‘The Key of Liberty” in 1798, arguing that the goal of the “Few” was to distress and force the “Many” into being financially dependent on them, creating a continued cycle of dependence to the elite class and government. In the late 19th century, this old saltbox Colonial house began to deteriorate, until the 1890s, when descendant of its original owner, and landscape architect,  Warren H. Manning, spearheaded family efforts to restore the property. As a prominent landscape architect, Manning purchased not just the house, but the surrounding lands that formed the basis of Manning State Forest, protecting both. Manning conducted a carefully documented restoration of the house in 1899, and made it his summer home. A family association was eventually formed to take over the property, which leases the old home to a local pub and restaurant. The house faces south, away from the street and the kitchen ell off the side of the house does detract from the building, but it remains a significant early building from the settlement of Billerica.

John and Mary Smith Cottage // c.1800

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One of the most charming cottages in Edgartown is this half-cape on South Summer Street, which retains its unique character amidst the extreme wealth and desire for expansion of summer homes on Martha’s Vineyard. This home dates to around the turn of the 19th century (possibly older) and in the 1800s, was home to John Sprague Smith (1808-1893) and his wife, Mary Norton Smith. John S. Smith, like most of the community, was a mariner and lived in the house until his death in 1893. The house was not originally on this lot, however, as it was originally built on the south side of S. Water Street and moved to its present location by later owner, Allen P. Stewart, a fisherman, woodcarver and artist who made wooden ducks. The house has since been added onto at the rear, but the diminutive and charming facade has been retained, with its early 20th century shed dormer on the front slope of the roof. 

Captain Benjamin Smith House – Vineyard Gazette Building // c.1760

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The Captain Benjamin Smith House on South Summer Street in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, was constructed c.1760 and retains its historical and architectural integrity. Capt. Benjamin Smith (1740-1821) was a military captain who commanded a company of militia on Martha’s Vineyard during the Revolutionary War, after, he served as a County Sheriff and Town Clerk. Captain Smith and his wife, Love (Coffin) Smith, had nine children in this home; with two of their sons becoming sea captains. The property remained a single-family residence until it was purchased in 1938 by the Vineyard Gazette, the first newspaper to be published in Dukes County, beginning in 1846. When the newspaper purchased the building, it constructed a rear addition, seeking to preserve the old home but expand the footprint to increase its operations with editor offices located in the main house and assembling and printing machinery in the addition. The Smith House-Vineyard Gazette Building was later acquired by the Vineyard Trust in 2010 who preserve the building and continue to rent the space to the Gazette. The pre-Revolutionary residence features a five-bay facade, shingle siding,  and lovely historic double-hung windows. 

Captain Thomas N. Fisher House // c.1856

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One of the more intricate Sea Captain’s residences on Martha’s Vineyard, can be found here on South Summer Street in Edgartown, a unique Gothic Revival residence notable for its carved bargeboards and full-length porch. The residence appears to have been built around 1856 for Thomas N. Fisher (1819-1885), a whaling captain who married his wife Phebe, leaving her soon after in this home on a whaling voyage. Historians state that Captain Fisher was a strict disciplinarian and one of a very few whaling masters to forbid prostitutes on board his ship. He served many more excursions even through the Civil War when whaling vessels were particularly prone to attacks by Confederate raiders. It is said that Captain Fisher cut the top of his topmasts to disguise his ship as an English rig to sail safely home. In 1885, Captain Fisher died of a heart attack while at church in Edgartown, but his residence remains well-preserved much like it was when maintained by his wife while he was away for months or years at a time out at sea.  

Holmes W. Smith House // c.1835

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The architecturally distinguished Holmes Smith House on South Summer Street in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, showcases the range in which the Greek Revival style could showcase whimsy and unique architectural details from the typical side-hall gable-end form seen all over New England. The house appears to date from the mid 1830s with its strong, symmetrical facade of flushboard siding, its three bays divided with paneled pilasters, and elaborate parapet containing a central dormer and arched fan motifs. The house was originally owned by Capt. Holmes Wass Smith (1798-1849) and his wife, Sophia (Coffin) Smith and later in the 19th and early 20th centuries by members of the Pease family. The residence is now a summer home and has been thoughtfully preserved as one of the most excellent and unique examples of its style on Martha’s Vineyard. 

Collins-Schofield House // c.1750

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One of the older Colonial-era homes in Martha’s Vineyard, is this 2 1/2-story, side-gable, half-house clad in wood shingles on South Water Street in Edgartown. Deed research has not been undertaken, but a 1858 map shows the property owned by the estate of Palfrey Collins (1777-1857), who worked as a ship rigger, mariner, and day laborer on a nearby wharf, primarily on vessels preparing for whaling voyages from Edgartown. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the property was owned by sea captain, Ira V. Schofield (1837-1918). The residence retains its Colonial charm, including the (possibly original) eight-over-twelve and twelve-over-twelve sash windows, and door surround with transom over the paneled door.

Federated Church of Martha’s Vineyard // 1828

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Built in 1828, the meetinghouse of the Federated Church of Martha’s Vineyard is the oldest church building on the island in its original location. The structure was built as the Congregational church in Edgartown, with its founding dating back to 1642 when Thomas Mayhew colonized the island. The congregation in Edgartown raised money by selling the rights to individual pews, and took 112 years to pay off the remainder of its debt. The Federal style church building was constructed by Frederick Baylies Jr., its architect and builder, who used Asher Benjamin’s design publications to bring the stately design to life. When constructed in 1828, the church fronted Main street beyond a deep common in front, which has since been infilled with houses, seemingly to help the congregation pay off its debt in the 19th century. The church became known as the Federated Church in 1925, when that year, the Edgartown Baptist Society merged with the Congregational Church, sharing this edifice for their congregations. In 1857, Frederick Douglass delivered his historic speech, ‘The Unity of Man’ to a packed audience at the Meetinghouse. Every 4th of July, a reading of Frederick Douglass’ powerful speech, “The Meaning of the Fourth of July for the Negro” is read by community leaders and members.

Coffin-Dunham House // c.1682

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John Coffin (1647-1711) was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and later moved to Nantucket with his father finding work as a blacksmith. John moved to Edgartown (Martha’s Vineyard) in 1682, continuing his profession there as the island’s premier blacksmith. Soon after arriving, John Coffin and his wife, Deborah, built a small residence and blacksmith shop, here on South Water Street, which later became this stunning property with later additions and alterations. The construction of the original section is said to be built of timber infilled with brick, a luxury but also a necessity to protect John Coffin’s house in case of a fire from his attached blacksmith shop. The business did well and John and Deborah moved to a new residence on North Water Street by the turn of the 18th century. This property overlooking the harbor was later occupied and expanded by various artisans, including Elijah Dunham, a shoemaker, in 1792. It was likely under Dunham’s ownership that the house was expanded to its present two-story form with telescoping ells. More recently, the Coffin-Dunham House, one of the oldest extant buildings on the island, was thoughtfully renovated by Patrick Ahearn Architects.


Nunnepog House // c.1840

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Located on South Water Street in Edgartown, Massachusetts, the Nunnepog House stands as one of the finest mid-19th century homes on Martha’s Vineyard. The residence was built by Joseph Allen Athearn (1807-1867), who is listed in the Census as a carpenter. The first known owner is Edmund Bradley (1786-1869), then a retired sea captain, who lived here until his death. In the 1930s, the house became well known as The Seagull and the Whale, a shop in which Louise Meikleham sold homemade jams, jellies, and breads and later became her residence, known as the Nunnepog House, derived from the original Wampanoag name for the area encompassing Edgartown and Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard. The residence was moved to its present site in the 1950s or 60s and was more recently renovated and expanded from plans by Patrick Ahearn Architects. The residence is unusual for its four-bay facade with offset entrance and features many hallmarks of the Greek Revival style, including cornice returns, paneled corner pilasters, a wide frieze, and classical entry. The half-fan windows and corresponding shutters are a great design element of the facade which makes it stand out from other period homes.


Martha’s Vineyard National Bank Building // 1855

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Living on an island in the 19th century wasn’t as easy as you may think. Before this bank building in Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard was constructed in 1855, all banking was done on the mainland, mostly in New Bedford. As Edgartown thrived as a whaling capital and later as a vacation destination, it was clear that a bank be built on the island for easy depositing and withdrawal of funds for residents. This bank, the first brick building constructed in Edgartown, was built to house the newly formed Martha’s Vineyard National Bank. It’s first president was Dr. Daniel Fisher, who made his money as a merchant and operator of one of the largest whale and sperm oil processing facilities in the country. The bank eventually relocated to Vineyard Haven and the Edgartown National Bank was created to fill the void in town. Amazingly, the building is still to this day occupied by a bank, Rockland Trust, seemingly adding to the continuous occupancy of the building by banking facilities for well over a century. The late iteration of the Greek Revival style is evident here with the heavy lintels over the oversized windows and the dentilled pediment at the facade.

St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church, Edgartown // 1925

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Catholics on Martha’s Vineyard began worshipping in the late-1870s when a small group, mostly of Portuguese origin, began meeting in homes. As the island grew into a summer vacation destination, Catholic summer residents desired a place to have Mass celebrated on the island. Throughout the 19th century, an occasional priest from New Bedford or Cape Cod would come to the Vineyard to celebrate Mass in private residences. Residents in Edgartown purchased land in the village for a small chapel, rectory for it’s full-time summer priest, and cemetery. As the summer populations grew, it was decided that a larger Catholic church was needed for Edgartown, and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Fall River, Daniel Feehan, funded the new church and hired architect, Joseph I. Higgins, to design the new building. The church was dedicated in the summer of 1925 and features elements of Gothic and Colonial Revival styles.