Greek Revival

Captain Hadley House // c.1850

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Built around 1850 for Captain Hadley this stately home in Marion, Massachusetts, is significant as a two-story transitional Greek Revival/Italianate landmark that has ties to one of the most prominent local families and has spent nearly two centuries as the visual entrance to the historic village. The home was built for sea captain, Stephen Delano Hadley (1814-1892) and his wife, Mary Soule. The home was at the northern end of the Old Landing, near the working harbor, and saw other owners in the 19th and 20th centuries until it became an office building. In the 2010s, the prominent site along a busy thoroughfare was eyed by CVS to redevelop the site with a suburban style store and parking lot. The community rallied with petitions signed by thousands and local groups mobilized to save the building and character of the community. The Sippican Historical Society and Sky Development Ltd. partnered to purchase the building and acquire a deed restriction on the site, preserving it in perpetuity. Today, the Captain Hadley House, as it’s still known locally, continues under new ownership as a small medical office, its Italianate details preserved under the historical society’s watch as one of Marion’s most recognizable surviving nineteenth-century landmarks.

Blankinship House // 1852

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This perfect mid-19th century cottage showcases what makes coastal New England so special. Located on Main Street in the walkable historic center of Marion, Massachusetts, this 1852 home was built by Warren Blankinship (1816-1898), a carpenter, as his own residence. It was built just before his second marriage to Mercy Wing in 1853. A series of tragedies struck Blankinship’s marriages as he outlived three of his four wives. A well-preserved example of a modest Greek Revival home, it is clad in cedar shingles, a hallmark of many coastal homes in New England. White Cedar shingles are so popular historically as the species is such a hard wood that pieces are naturally insect and rot resistant and hold up amazingly well to salt air. Early colonists noted the use of the tree for canoes and other objects by Native people and followed suit, constructing homes from the native tree.

First Universalist Church, Marion – Marion Arts Center // 1833

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I do love a good adaptive reuse story! This historic church building on Main and Pleasant streets in the Wharf Village of Marion, Massachusetts, was constructed in 1833 for the town’s growing and new Universalist congregation. Architect Seth Eaton was hired and furnished plans, likely relying on neighbor, Warren Blankinship, a carpenter and congregant, to construct the building. It blends together the Greek and Gothic Revival styles well, but in a less sophisticated form than some larger churches. By World War II, the church’s membership had dwindled to only a few old Marion families and eventually closed. With the building’s future uncertain, at a time where demolition for surface parking lots was the go-to solution, Marion residents Andrew and Dorothy Patterson, purchased the building and soon after worked with local artists in town to restore the building for use as an art space. The Marion Art Center was founded in 1957, and to this day, serves as a non-profit community cultural organization dedicated to promoting the visual and performing arts.

Dr. Ellis House – Sippican Historical Society // 1834

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This house sits on Main Street in Marion, Massachusetts, and it is an example of a modest mid-19th century Greek Revival style residence seen in the main village here. The house was built in 1834 for Dr. Walton Nye Ellis (1808-1867), who served as physician in Marion. Born in Wareham, Ellis moved to Marion, and married Susan Delano (1809-1840), she passed away in 1840, and not long after her death, Dr. Ellis remarried. In 1855, Dr. Ellis organized a meeting of prosperous Village men, mostly sea captains, with the purpose of planning a library for the town. They pooled resources and funded a library which was located in a large closet on the second floor of his home seen here. The library’s books could be borrowed for a few cents a week. Subsequent funding from Elizabeth Taber helped create the Taber Library just decades later. In the 1960s, the home was gifted to the Sippican Historical Society, who remain in the building to this day.

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.

Whitney-Dearborn House – St. Elizabeth’s Center // 1838

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Located adjacent to the Mary Immaculate of Lourdes Catholic Church and Rectory in Newton Upper Falls village, this stately Greek Revival style residence has sat in a state of intentional deterioration for over a decade by its owners. The handsome and high-quality structure was built in 1838 for Dr. Samuel S. Whitney, who lived in his new home for six years before moving to Dedham in 1844. Dr. Abraham D. Dearborn bought his practice and home and remained here for ten years, until 1854, when Fred Barden, proprietor of a rolling mill and paper mill in the village, purchased the home in 1855 and lived here until his death 1877. The large property, with fine gardens, a fish pond, and stable, were eventually purchased by the Mary Immaculate of Lourdes parish in 1900 and the house moved to its present location to facilitate the construction of the new church in 1909. For nearly a century, the former Whitney-Dearborn House operated as the St. Elizabeth’s Center until it closed and the property was sold to an LLC in 2016, who sadly, appear to be pushing for a demolition by neglect as the building is located within the local Upper Falls Historic District. If anyone knows more, please share.

Pettee Stone Cottage // c.1839

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Located next to the Pettee Stone Barn in Newton’s Upper Falls village, this equally charming stone cottage was built around the same time by Otis Pettee, a wealthy industrialist and founder of the Pettee Machine Works, which manufactured cotton and silk machinery. This cottage served as a shop and later as the residence of the caretaker of the silk mill which also had space and equipment to raise the silk worms in the adjacent barn. Later in the nineteenth century, the cottage was owned by George Pettee (1827-1896), son of Otis Pettee. In the 20th century, the structures were operated by the New England Spun Silk Corporation and it now is a single-family residence. The facade of the Pettee Cottage is three bays wide with twelve-over-twelve windows with wood shutters.

George Dodge House – Highland House // c.1790 & c.1850

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Built in the 1790s by a Salem mariner, merchant and tanner, George Dodge (1750-1821), this large Federal-period residence in Tamworth, New Hampshire, is now preserved and lives on as the Highland House, a historic bed & breakfast. The residence was owned by George Dodge, who arrived to town and engaged in local affairs, serving as town clerk and housing the local congregation in his barn until the town house was built in 1794. Dodge assisted with bringing Rev. Samuel Hidden to Tamworth as it’s pastor, and settled in nicely to the community until he was lured back to Salem following the death of his father, whom he inherited a sizable fortune. George Dodge does not appear to have returned back to Tamworth, but willed his property here to the Congregational Church. By the mid-19th century, the house was renovated in the Greek Revival style, with the addition of the Classical door surround and corner pilasters (and likely the addition of the third floor and gable roof). The dwelling stands as a stately country mansion, with rooms for rent as the Highland House, which opened in the 1990s.

Tamworth Congregational Church // 1851

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The Congregational Church in Tamworth was organized on September 12, 1792, with its pastor sworn in at Ordination Rock. The Congregationalists used the town meetinghouse, built in 1794, for over half a century. But, following the passing of the Toleration Act of 1819 in New Hampshire, which effectively brought about the separation of church and state, the old Town House began to suffer from deferred maintenance. As the Act allowed citizens to stop supporting the established Congregational Church in all towns via taxation and instead now support the denomination of their choosing. From this, a new Congregational Church, this structure, was built in the village in 1851 and the old Town House was moved to the village and renovated to its present appearance in 1852 in the Greek Revival style. The Tamworth Congregational Church stands as a typical, yet well-preserved example of a mid-19th century religious building in New England, here largely depicting elements of the Greek Revival style with its pediment, entablature, and corner pilasters, but with Gothic Revival features of the Gothic arched louver in the belfry and finials.

Francis and Maria Burleigh House // c.1845

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Located in the charming town center of Tamworth, New Hampshire, the Francis and Maria Burleigh House stands as a significant and well-preserved residence from the mid-19th century. The house was owned and likely constructed in by Francis N. Burleigh (1823-1893) and his new bride, Maria (Hyde) Burleigh around the time of their marriage in 1845. Francis worked as a shoemaker and his business did quite well to be able to afford a large home in the center of Tamworth’s village. The house was likely modernized slightly at the end of the 19th century with the two-over-two sash windows and Victorian-period front door, but these changes fit well with the mid-19th century Greek Revival style home. What do you think?

Tamworth Town House // 1794

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The historic Town House in Tamworth, New Hampshire, was built in 1794 as the meeting house, serving as both the center of religious worship and local government for the community. The Tamworth Town House was built after the community voted to call its first minister in 1792, thirty-two-year-old Rev. Samuel Hidden, who was ordained on a large boulder (ever since known as Ordination Rock), as there was no public building to house the ceremony. Within a year, members of the community voted that the new meetinghouse should be two stories with a porch (stair-tower) on the front of the building, and it was to be built near Ordination Rock. The structure has an impressive hand-hewn timber frame, spacious interior with original gallery columns, and surviving pulpit window showcase the skilled workmanship of early builders. Following the passing of the Toleration Act of 1819 in New Hampshire effectively brought about the separation of church and state. It severed allowed citizens to stop supporting the established Congregational Church in all towns via taxation and instead now support the denomination of their choosing. From this, a new Congregational Church was built in the village and the old Town House was moved to the village and renovated to its present appearance in 1852 in the Greek Revival style. The renovation added updated Classical frieze and pilasters, a redesigned main entrance, and larger windows that complemented the new use as the Tamworth Town Hall.

Ordination Rock

Chocorua Community Church // 1835

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The First Free Will Baptist Church of Tamworth, New Hampshire, was founded in 1781 and centered around the charming mountain village of Chocorua. Members met for years in private homes, schoolhouses, and even barns until a lot was acquired in 1834 for the congregation and this church built a year later in 1835. The church was remodeled in 1885 to its current form, which likely saw the building raised and the steeple added. The church was renamed in 1921 to the Chocorua Baptist Church and again to the present name, Chocorua Community Church. The Chocorua Community Church is a typical 19th century vernacular New England church with a basic form, gable roofed main block, two-stage belfry tower topped by a spire. The composition of the facades with double doors and blind lancet window above is typical of the vernacular church architecture of the period, and while not architecturally distinctive, the church is significant as a community center of the Chocorua Village of Tamworth.

South Tamworth United Methodist Church // 1832

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The modern history of Tamworth, New Hampshire began in 1766 with the granting of a charter from King George III of England to the town in the name of Benning Wentworth, Colonial Governor of New Hampshire. Settlers ventured slowly north into the towering forests with Native paths bisecting giant swaths of otherwise untouched rugged terrain. Colonial settlers burned and chopped the great trees, built the first homesteads, and planted the first crops to establish a town. The hardy people of Tamworth, persevered through the smallpox epidemic of 1813; the “cold years” and famines of 1815, ’16, and ’17; the “siege of the wolves” on Great Hill in Tamworth in 1820. As soon as the first farms were established, saw, shingle, and turning mills proliferated in every part of town, along with new houses, churches, and schools were built close to them. By the early 20th century, the town became a sort of summer colony where wealthy city-dwellers traveled here for the cool summer breezes and to get away from the stress and pollution of urban centers. The Methodist Church in Tamworth was originally organized in 1824 and less than a decade later, in 1832, its first house of worship was constructed. This building, a vernacular meeting house, was largely rebuilt by 1862, where the structure is said to have been raised and enlarged with the belfry and stained glass windows added at that time.