Soon after the town of Princeton, Massachusetts, incorporated in 1759, residents of other towns in the central part of the state flocked to the area to establish homesteads and farm the land. One of the new residents of Princeton at this period was Jonas Beaman (1750-1804) who settled here from Lancaster and built one of the most significant and unique farmhouses in town. Jonas built the stone house around 1780 from stones harvested near Mount Wachusett, and his family maintained the farm here. The basement of the house for a time served as a district school, following a fire that destroyed the previous school building. The Late-Georgian style residence features a hipped roof with center chimney, a center entry with transom, six-over-nine sash windows, and stunning site at the edge of a small pond.
Tucked into the hills below Mount Wachusett, the Keyes Homestead in Princeton, Massachusetts, dates to the colonial era, and is part of a well-known local legend. Robert Keyes, his wife Martha, and their young family settled in present-day Princeton in 1751, and built this home to withstand rough New England winters. Within years of the family settling in Princeton, tragedy struck. Legend states that on April 14, 1755, Martha Keyes sent her two older daughters to collect sand from the banks of Wachusett Lake. Unbeknownst to the sisters, little Lucy, just four years old, followed them. She vanished into the woods and was never seen again, despite search parties combing the forest for years. Mr. Keyes was driven to near poverty in his efforts, selling portions of land and even petitioning the government for financial assistance in 1765. Mrs. Keyes is said to have been driven to near insanity, crying her daughter’s name into the woods for years after her disappearance. Two main theories emerged as to what happened to little Lucy. One grim legend says that the Keyes’ mountainside neighbor, Tilly Littlejohn murdered the young girl. According to a 1827 letter now in possession of Cornell University, a man in the New York area thought to be an elderly Tilly Littlejohn confessed on his deathbed to the brutal murder of the little girl whose father he had quarreled with. The man allegedly said that after the murder, he hid the child’s body in a hollowed-out log. The second theory is that a nearby Native American tribe found, captured and fostered the lost little girl. Reports say that many years later, two travelers came across a white woman living among a tribe near the Canadian border who knew little to no English, but recalled once living near what she called “Chusett Hill”. The old Keyes Homestead remains a well-preserved Colonial residence and tells the story of early heartbreak and the difficulty that was early settlement in New England.
In 1769, Abijah Harrington (1743-1821) moved from Weston and settled in present day Princeton, Massachusetts, where he purchased land on Pine Hill and built this Georgian farmhouse soon-after. He built a home 38’x30′ and a barn and farmed here with his family upon the outbreak of the Revolution. Harrington enlisted with his fellow Princeton militiamen, where he was appointed Corporal. After the war, Abijah and his wife, Sarah, raised their seven children and maintained their farm, having a happy life until 1786. It is not clear what plagued the farm, but within a month, six of their children, ranging in age from 15 years to one year old, died. Abijah and Sarah paid for ornate gravestones for their six children and buried them in the spring at the Meetinghouse Cemetery in the center of town. Their one surviving son, Benjamin Harrington, would inherit the family farm and remained here until his death in 1851. In the late 19th century, the farm was purchased by brothers, Joseph and Edward Brewer of Milton, who seemingly operated it as a summer retreat and gentleman’s farm. It was known as Pine Hill Farm and today remains a private home.
The enchanting town of Princeton, Massachusetts, was incorporated in 1759, created out of land that was previously part of nearby Rutland. The town was named after Rev. Thomas Prince, a prominent clergyman, scholar and historian. Known as the Parker Farmhouse, this Georgian-era residence in Princeton dates to 1777, when Thomas Parker (1727-1799) of Lexington, purchased farmland here and began constructing the family homestead soon-after. Thomas resided in the home with his wife, Jane, and their only child, Ebenezer Parker (1750-1839). The Parker’s laid out a family cemetery near the homestead, now known as West Sterling Cemetery, where many generations of the family are buried. Thomas and Ebenezer seem to have run the homestead as a tavern by the late 18th century. The farmhouse remained in the family for generations, and maintains much of its original character.
Perched atop a hill at the edge of the town common in Strafford, Vermont, the Strafford Meetinghouse exemplifies the traditional New England meetinghouse. The town of Strafford was settled in 1768 by settlers from Connecticut under a charter issued by the Governor of New York. Today, it may be best-known as the hometown of Noah Kahan. The meetinghouse was the first structure to be built in the present village and was constructed in a central position within the township on the turnpike between Montpelier and Boston. Built in 1799 by local carpenters, the structure served as a site for town meetings and house of worship for various congregations in the community. At the time of the disestablishment of the churches in Vermont in the early 19th century, many meetinghouses like in Strafford, passed to the possession of churches, however, both of the leading church groups in the town decided to build their own churches. As a result, the old Strafford Meetinghouse remained the property of the Town to accommodate local civic meetings. The exterior of the building is largely unchanged besides the addition of the tower and belfry on the primary facade in 1832. The building remains one of the finest and best-preserved examples of a 18th century meetinghouse in New England, and with its bucolic setting, it often serves as a backdrop and feature in photoshoots and New England travel publications.
One of the oldest homes in Marion, Massachusetts is this beautiful gambrel-roofed Cape house on Water Street, backing up to the town’s iconic harbor. The residence dates to at least 1784 constructed seemingly as an inn for sailors who would dock their ships in the harbor just behind the property. It was later acquired by Edward Sherman (1790-1867), a shipwright and carpenter who built schooners at the wharfs in town, becoming Sherman’s Inn. In 1868, his son Edward Franklin Sherman (1821-1907), also a ship carpenter, sold the waterfront property after his father’s death to Andrew A. Harwood, an admiral in the United States Navy, Commodore of the Washington Navy Yard, and through his mother, a great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin! During the early twentieth century, the iconic property became the home of Dr. William McDonald, physician to Franklin D. Roosevelt during the 1920s. Roosevelt sought Dr. McDonald’s medical advice after contracting polio. The Beverly Yacht Club acquired the building in 1955 and have maintained the building ever since. Interestingly, the Beverly Yacht Club was originally named after the town of Beverly, north of Boston, when members broke from the Eastern Yacht Club of Marblehead. For the first 23 years, the club had no fixed location, but eventually settled in Bourne, and then merged with the local Sippican Yacht Club. The Great Hurricane of 1938 destroyed their clubhouse and they were “homeless” for years until moving to Marion into this 1784 home, later expanding it to meet growing needs.
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.
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.
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.
Dating to about 1723, the Danforth-Sexton House on Concord Road in Billerica, Massachusetts, is one of the town’s finest Colonial-era homes and excellently preserved as the home to the Billerica Historical Society. The original owner, Jacob Danforth (1698-1754), was a blacksmith and lived here with his wife, Rebeckah, until his death in 1754. The property was inherited by their son, David, who would sell the house to Rev. Henry Cummings, the fourth pastor of the First Church of Billerica. A series of doctors owned the house in the early 19th century, one of whom likely added the small addition to the side of the main house, which possibly housed a small doctor’s office. The final private owners were William Sexton and his wife, Clara Sexton, who would eventually bequeath the home to the Billerica Historical Society. The house and the now attached barn operate as a house museum with collections documenting the history of the community.
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.
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.
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.
Located on a back road in Suffield, Connecticut, the Lewis-Zukowski Farmhouse stands as one of the oldest and largest brick homes found in this part of the state. The Federal period farmhouse was built in 1781 for Hezekiah Lewis, he was a farmer of modest prosperity. The farm was owned by subsequent owners until 1905, when it was purchased by Michael Zukowski, who was born in Poland around 1867. He arrived in Suffield with his family in 1888 and found a job working on a tobacco farm for $8 a month. He married in 1898 and became a naturalized citizen in 1900. By 1905, he had saved enough money to purchase this farm property for $2,800. He grew tobacco on his farm and raised his family, who retained the property throughout the 20th century. The rural farmhouse is architecturally significant as well as historically significant for its connections with the local tobacco industry and immigration that helped the community thrive in the 20th century.
Located on Suffield’s idyllic Main Street, the Alexander King House stands as a well-preserved example of a Georgian home in Connecticut. Alexander King (1737-1802) is a prominent figure in Suffield’s history. He was a graduate of Yale, and later practiced medicine in town, as well as serving as Selectman and Town Clerk for almost thirty years. He was also a Justice of the Peace, Representative to the Assembly, participant in agitation against British colonialism, and delegate to the Connecticut Ratifying Convention of 1788, when the state ratified the U.S Constitution. The home is owned and maintained today by the Suffield Historical Society, who operate the home as a house museum with exhibits on the town’s rich history.
