Federal Style

Farwell Hall – Andover Newton Theological School // 1829

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The Newton Theological Institution, a school originally founded for the Baptist ministry, opened on Institution Hill in Newton Center in 1825. The 40-acre campus started with six buildings, including this one, Farwell Hall, built in 1829. Farwell Hall is the oldest extant building on the campus today and is named after benefactor and early founder of the school, Levi Farwell. The brick building began as a late-Federal-designed building with a classic Federal Style window fenestration and Adamesque brick arches on the first story side elevations, but the formerly Federal style building was modernized in 1871 with the addition of a fourth floor via a mansard roof, and a more recent, unfortunate altered entry with projecting roof. After the Andover Newton Theological School sold their campus, the building has since been home to an assisted care facility.

Jackson-Richards Farmhouse // c.1768

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This historic home at the edge of Newton Centre is believed to have been built by 1768 by Abraham Jackson, a descendant of one of the earliest settlers in what would become Newton. Abraham took out a mortgage on three acres of land and woodlands, a dwelling house and barn. In 1782, the property was acquired by Aaron Richards (1750-1823), a Revolutionary War veteran and carpenter, who likely modified the residence into the Federal style form and design we see today. Aaron Richards would farm the land here until his death. The farmhouse would be bought and sold and the property subdivided in the 19th and 20th centuries, diminishing the farm and woodland which once surrounded the residence. For a period after the Civil War, the property was owned by the Boston Children’s Aid Society as a Girl’s Home, used as a boarding house to raise orphaned girls from the Boston area, teaching them skills to increase their hopes of adoption or moving out on their own. The property was reverted to a residence by the 20th century and is significant as one of Newton’s few extant 18th-century farmhouses.

Spofford-Root House // c.1830

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The Spofford Family was one of the earliest to settle in present-day Georgetown, with the earliest enclave of homes built along Andover Road in the western part of town. A few generations later, subsequent family members would built in the town center, taking advantage of the growing commercial and business community. This Federal period home (with later alterations) was built around 1830 for Greenleaf Spofford (1801-1887) the same year as his marriage to Emily Willmarth. The couple would move out of town and sold the home to Dr. Richmond Barbour Root (1846-1930),  the second of a highly respected, three generation family to practice medicine in Georgetown. The overlay of machine-sawn Stick Style decorative porch, bracketed cornice and bay windows were likely added by Root sometime after the Civil War. Unlike most owners of Federal and Greek Revival-style dwellings, Dr. Root may have held a valid professional interest in appearing as up-to-date as possible with a “modernized” home that also served as the site of his office and consulting rooms.

Moody-Hall House // 1830

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Transitional Federal/Greek Revival style houses are among my favorite. You can see the emergence of Classical architecture blending with American architecture with features of both styles, which work well together. This example can be found on Elm Street in Georgetown, Massachusetts. The dwelling appears to have been built for Dr. George Moody, one of four physicians in Georgetown in 1840, who began his practice in town in 1830. In his first years there, he oversaw patients during Typhus and Dysentery outbreaks and was credited with having determined that a high sulphur content in the local water supply accounted for the increased cases. Dr. Moody died in 1866, and his widow continued to live in the house until her death in 1880, after which it was sold to Mrs. Charlotte Sawyer Hall, the widow of local shoemaker Seth Hall.

Jacob Randall House // c.1796

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The Jacob Randall House on Lawrence Road in Pownal, Maine was built about 1796 and is a fine example of Federal period architecture executed in brick in the town. Built for Jacob Randall (1771-1829) a native of Weymouth, Massachusetts, who purchased over 100 acres of land in town, and had this house built sometime after. His property spanned the nearby Chandler River, upon which he established a sawmill and gristmill. When Pownal was incorporated in 1808, Randall was one of its first town selectmen, a seat he held nearly continuously until his death in 1836. The house is five bays wide, with its entrance in the central bay, recessed with a fanlight.

Sabbathday Lake Shaker Meetinghouse // 1794

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The last active Shaker community in the world can be found in New Gloucester, Maine. The Shakers migrated to Colonial America in 1774 in pursuit of religious freedom and developed from the religious group called the Quakers, which originated in the 17th century. Both groups believed that everybody could find God within him or herself, rather than through clergy or rituals, but the Shakers tended to be more emotional and demonstrative in their worship. Shakers also believed that their lives should be dedicated to pursuing perfection, continuously confessing their sins, and attempting a cessation of sinning, including sex and marriage. They built 19 communal settlements (so far I have featured two: Enfield Shaker Village and Canterbury Shaker Village) that attracted some 20,000 converts over the next century and maintained their numbers through conversion and adoption of orphans, numbers which have dropped to just three active members in 2024! The Sabbathday Lake community was established in 1782 and grew to a size of 1,900 acres with 26 large buildings by 1850. This building, the Shaker’s meetinghouse, was built in 1794 with all materials and labor supplied by the community. The small but significant structure remains a landmark in the community and is occasionally open for tours.

Whitman-Fessenden-Coombs House // c.1800

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This important Federal-period house sits in the middle of New Gloucester village in Maine, and dates to the early 19th century with mid-19th century alterations. The original owner was Obediah Whitman, who sold the house soon after to General Samuel Fessenden (1784-1869) lived here while practicing law in New Gloucester. He was an avid abolitionist who served as a congressman and in 1828, he declined the presidency of Dartmouth College. The General’s son, William Pitt Fessenden, resided there from ages three to fourteen. William later became a U.S. Senator and Lincoln’s Secretary of the Treasury. The third notable owner was artist, Delbert Dana “D.D.” Coombs, who used the second floor for his studio for some years. The update from the mid-19th century of the modest bracketed eaves and two-over-one windows showcases how later owners can update a home without diminishing the original design.

Nathaniel C. Allen House // 1793

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The Nathaniel C. Allen House is a two-story Federal style residence located in New Gloucester, Maine. The house was built in 1793 by Shubael Marsh, a local builder (and father of Shubael Jr. (1797–1867), who moved to Texas with Stephen F. Austin) and sold to Nathaniel Coit Allen, an early settler in New Gloucester, who served as a General during the American Revolution. The property was purchased by Col. James Madison Thompson, then owner of the Glen House, an early White Mountains hotel in New Hampshire, who renovated the home by replacing the central chimney with two narrow ones and raised the ceilings and introduced Victorian interior woodwork. A subsequent owner added large Colonial Revival porches on the front and side entrances along with a new entry. The house showcases the changing tastes from Federal style to Victorian back to traditional tastes.

Morrill House // c.1830

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This stunning brick Federal style home sits in the center of Gray Village in Maine. The house dates to the early 19th century and was long-owned by members of the Morrill Family, seemingly first by William C. Morrill and remaining in the family for generations. The residence is a high-style example of the Federal style with recessed elliptical entrance with fanlight transom and sidelights with a Victorian-era front door. The house was likely built by a local mason or housewright who employed the designs of a Federal style plan book for the architectural detailing at the entry.

Samuel Perley House // c.1784

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Built around 1784 for Reverend Samuel Perley, this Federal style home is one of the finest in the town of Gray, Maine. Samuel Perley (1742-1830) was educated at Harvard College and while there, met and befriended John Adams, who would later become the second President of the United States. The two maintained a lifelong friendship. Perley came to Gray in 1784 as a pastor of Gray’s first church. He likely had this house built at the time or purchased an existing house and updated it and the house is said to have Moses Eaton stencilling inside. At one point, Rev. Perley and his wife lived on one side of the house while his son Isaac, his wife, and their twelve children lived on the other.