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Bird Island Light // 1819

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Perched on a tiny, treeless island at the entrance to Sippican Harbor in Marion, Massachusetts, Bird Island Lighthouse has stood since 1819, when Congress appropriated $11,500 to buy the island and erect a light guiding the whaling ships and lumber, nail, and salt cargo vessels that crowded Buzzards Bay. A 25-foot-tall conical rubblestone tower was constructed, surmounted by a 12-foot tall iron lantern with small stone keeper’s dwelling connected to the tower by a covered walkway, that has since been demolished. William S. Moore, a veteran of the War of 1812, was appointed as the first keeper, which went into operation in 1819. Today, there have been legends about murder and hauntings on the island. Some accounts claim that Moore murdered his wife—described as a “Boston society girl”—at the lighthouse and disappeared soon after. A rifle was purportedly found in a secret hiding place, along with a bag of tobacco, when the original keeper’s house was torn down in 1889. The gun was believed by some to be the murder weapon. Others have claimed that Moore prevented his ailing wife from seeking medical attention on the mainland, and that she died as a result. The truth about Moore will probably never be completely separated from the fantastic legends concerning his life. The light was decommissioned in 1933 and sold by the Federal Government in 1940, later purchased by the Town of Marion in 1966. The Sippican Historical Society oversaw the restoration of the tower with the surrounding island serving as a protected sanctuary for nesting roseate terns.

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.

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.

Gamewell Fire Alarm and Telegraph Company Factory // 1889

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The Gamewell Fire Alarm and Telegraph Company traces its roots to the pioneering work of William Francis Channing and Moses Farmer of Boston, whose 1850s telegraph-based fire alarm system was the first practical fire alarm box system that consisted of telegraph-based boxes placed on street corners, which, when activated, sent a coded signal to a central fire station notifying them of a fire or emergency. The duo applied for a patent for their “Electromagnetic Fire Alarm Telegraph for Cities” which was later acquired by John Gamewell of South Carolina. Following the Civil War, Gamewell partnered with Kennard and Company and built a factory in Newton Highlands in 1873. The company would adopt the trademark of a fist gripping lightningbolts, and by 1886, the Gamewell system was operating in over 250 cities in the United States and Canada. As the company grew operations, the business moved to this site in the Upper Falls village in 1889, which was desirable for its close proximity to the railroad and markets all over the region. The first factory was the two-story wooden factory building completed in 1889, with later wings to its east (1904) and west (1912) as the company continued to expand into the 20th century. The Gamewell company remained here until the 1970’s when Gamewell became a division of Gulf and Western. Luckily, the former factory was restored by owners Alexandria Properties and architects, Kraus Associates, as Telegraph, which now offer retail and office space for small local businesses

Pettee Stone Barn // 1839

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This historic stone barn in Newton’s Upper Falls village is representative of the ingenuity and resourcefulness of this once thriving nineteenth century mill village. Known as the Pettee Stone Barn, the structure dates to 1839 when Otis Pettee (1795-1853), who managed an iron foundry and machine-works for cotton machinery, built this structure as a warehouse. The barn was said to have been used additionally as a location for raising silkworms by Pettee’s company. After the business closed, the handsome barn was used later in the 19th and early 20th century as a carriage and horse barn for a shipping company and today, is rented to local businesses. Architecturally, the barn is significant for its use of fieldstone walls with door and window surrounds of cut stone and brick. A monitor roof runs the length of the gable ridge and illuminates the interior spaces. The Stone Barn remains remarkably preserved today and is a landmark in the community. 

Chinook Kennels // c.1920

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The Chinook Kennels in Tamworth, stand today as a lasting vestige of a lesser-known dog breed and the State Dog of New Hampshire, the Chinook. The Chinook owes its existence to one man: Arthur Treadwell Walden, who lived in the Wonalancet village of Tamworth, operating a farm and inn with his wife, Katherine Sleeper Walden. The breed derives principally from one male ancestor born in 1917, named “Chinook”, who was Walden’s lead dog, bred with Huskies, mastiff, and shepards to create the iconic breed today. As Arthur Walden developed the breed, he built kennels on the grounds of the Wonalancet Farm, this structure which is a log cabin of sorts. Walden brought his dog, Chinook, then 12-years-old, with him on the Byrd Expedition to the Antarctic, and he went missing while hauling supplies miles overland from ship to shore, and was presumed to have died there. When he returned home, Arthur sold the kennels and the core of his breeding stock to Milton and Eva B. ‘Short’ Seeley, who moved the kennel building down the road to its present site. The old building has been converted to a home and remains a private, single-family residence today.

Ambrosoli Block – Stone Castle // 1890

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The Ambrosoli Block, also known as the Stone Castle, is a stunning four-story building constructed of locally quarried Milford granite and brick, that has ties to the early development and history of Italians in Milford, Massachusetts. As local granite quarries in Milford prospered, many Italian-born immigrants settled in the community near their place of employment. Bernardo Ambrosoli (1843-1896), a well-known hotel proprietor in Boston’s North End, owned this structure in Milford, which served as a residential building and meeting and social hall for the local Italian community. The building was constructed by Giovanni Battista Giacomuzzi (1857-1919), a local stone cutter and builder. Bernardo Ambrosoli had connections to Milford as he also operated a hotel there, and owned this building which became a hub of early Italian-American life in town. The Stone Castle also served as the early meeting place for congregants of what would become the Sacred Heart Church of Milford. Bernardo Ambrosoli tragically died in 1896 when he was shot and killed by a bartender at his North End hotel. The Stone Castle, when built, was three stories tall with a one-and-a-half-story four-gabled roof on top, which burned in 1900. The present fourth floor in stone was added soon after with the brick banding showing the location of that addition. Today, the building is residential use.

Irish Round Tower, St. Mary’s Cemetery // 1894

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Thought to be the only example of an Irish Round Tower in the United States, the obscure Irish Round Tower in the St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Milford, Massachusetts, stands as a piece of local history and an architectural landmark. The tower was envisioned by Father Patrick Cuddihy (1809-1898), the pastor of the St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church of Milford, who was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and oversaw a largely Irish-born congregation here in the States. In 1893, Father Cuddihy sought to expand the existing St. Mary’s Cemetery which had been running out of space for the ever-growing Catholic population of Milford. For the cemetery, he envisioned an Irish Round Tower as a symbol of the Emerald Isle, his land of birth and that of most of his parishioners. Irish Round Towers were historically used in Ireland as bell towers, but for the cemetery in Milford, it would serve the purpose of beautification of the new grounds of the cemetery. Local workers began construction on the tower in 1894. Constructed of locally quarried Milford granite, the tower stands 73.5′ with a conical roof and walls two feet thick. The Milford tower is said to have been modeled after the tower on Devenish Island in Ireland and stands just 10 feet shorter than its inspiration.

Thom Block // 1891

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The Thom Block on Main Street in Downtown Milford, Massachusetts, is a historic mixed-use commercial block built of locally quarried Milford “pink” granite. The structure was constructed in 1891 by owner (and likely builder), James Thom, who arrived to Milford around 1889 and was hired by the Milford Pink Granite quarries as a foreman. Mr. Thom was the target of a vicious attack by a disgruntled quarry-worker and James would submit his resignation, turning his pursuits toward a local bicycle and horse racetrack and two of the town’s semi-professional baseball teams. He also got involved in real estate, in 1891 submitting plans for this building on Main Street that bears his name. Shortly after completion, a fire gutted the inside of the building and was rebuilt. Thom’s insurance did not fully cover the loss and he defaulted on the mortgage, selling the building and moved out of Milford. The Thom Block retains the polychromatic piers between storefronts and at the corner, which feature rounded granite blocks of polychromatic polished granite. The major ornament of the upper stories is a large plaque on the Main Street facade just above the recessed entrance with two Corinthian colonettes, spanned by a frieze and plinth on which “THOM” and “1891” are carved, respectively, showing us over a century later the original owner and his story.

Milford Armory // 1912 

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A source of local pride, the Milford Armory building on Pearl Street in Milford, Massachusetts, is an architectural landmark in the community and shows how adaptive reuse can give old buildings new life. The structure was completed in 1912 and constructed of locally quarried and cut Milford granite, a pinkish-grey granite that covers an area of approximately 39 square miles, centered around present-day Milford. Between the Civil War and WWII, the town of Milford became famous for its “pink” granite as a building material, with over 1,000 men laboring in dozens of quarries supplying the stone for some of America’s most iconic buildings including: the Boston Public Library, Worcester City Hall, as well as the original Penn Station and Natural History Museum in New York, among many others. Besides being built of local granite, the Armory was also designed by local architect, Wendell T. Phillips, who followed nationwide trends designing the building like a fortified Medieval castle with crenellated towers, with long and narrow windows recessed, emulating the slit windows used in similar medieval structures. Like in many communities all over the country, the need to store firearms and major National Guard trainings declined with some being demolished, others sitting vacant, and others like the Milford Armory, seeing new life. The Milford Armory was slated for closure in 2002 and was ultimately saved when the Town of Milford and the National Guard struck a deal to initially rent the building for a Youth Center and gymnasium and share the space with the Guard.  The armory was home to the popular Youth Center, which needed gym space not available anywhere else. The building was ultimately purchased by the town and underwent a massive restoration, being rededicated as the Milford Youth Center in 2016. 

Noyes Studio – Lee Residence // c.1860 & 1939

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This handsome building at 81 Chestnut Street in Boston, began as a two-story brick stable and was later modernized with an additional floor and renovated for use as an artist’s studio, a perfect encapsulation of the history of the Flat of Beacon Hill from the “horsey end of town” to upper-class enclave and artist community. The stable was built around 1860 for Harleston Parker (1823-1888), the father of the more well-known, architect, J. Harleston Parker, and remained as a stable throughout the 19th century. In the early 20th century, the two-story building was converted to a auto repair shop but changed use in 1916 when owner, Edward H. Noyes hired architect, Harry Browning Russell, to convert the old stable to an artist studio. The second-story windows were enlarged and former carriage door were enclosed with small rounded art glass, likely for and by George Loftus Noyes, a painter who worked for a time at the New England Glass Company. Inside, a central landscaped courtyard flooded the spaces with natural light. In 1936, George Noyes moved to Vermont, divorcing his wife, Maybelle, but leaving her with the Boston studio. Maybelle remarried to George Lee, and soon-after hired architect, Frank Chouteau Brown, to add a third-story to the studio for conversion to a year-round residence. Brown added the unique Moorish arched windows and brickwork at the third floor.


Harris and Mildred Livermore Mansion // 1919

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The four-story brick residence on Beaver Street in Beacon Hill was constructed in 1919 in the style of a Venetian palazzo for Harris Livermore, president of the Coastwise Transportation Corporation, and his wife, Mildred. The large home was designed by the firm of Richardson, Barott & Richardson, an office founded by Philip and Frederic Richardson, sons of famed architect Henry Hobson Richardson. The large mansion was featured in architectural publications, highlighting the popularity for Italian styles and the interior design of the home. The facade is finished in brick a stone base, with notable lancet windows with blind arches in groups of three and projecting oriel bays. At the fourth floor, two windows are surmounted by Venetian arches. After Harris Livermore died in 1929, the property was inherited by his daughter, Elizabeth, and her new husband F. Murray Forbes Jr., a prominent Boston attorney.

Frank S. Stevens Memorial Library – Swansea Public Library // 1900

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Presented to the Town of Swansea by Elizabeth Stevens as a memorial library of her late husband, Frank Shaw Stevens, the Stevens Memorial Library (also known as the Swansea Public Library) is one of the finest small-town buildings of its kind in Massachusetts. Elizabeth and her husband, Frank Stevens, lived in a large mansion nearby on Main Street and in their older years, began to bequeath their fortune to their community that they made home. The couple funded the Swansea Town Hall, a large church, and schools along with this handsome library. Built in 1900, the Swansea Library was designed by architect, Henry Vaughan, an English-born architect who designed some of the best English-inspired buildings in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For the Stevens Memorial Library in Swansea, Vaughan drew upon Elizabethan precedence and employed the use of granite and red Potsdam sandstone to create a warm, yet stately presence on the towns Main Street. With its state roof capped by an octagonal cupola and mullioned windows in arched surrounds, the eclectic building is timeless and has been lovingly preserved by the local community, who also expanded the building to the rear, taking great care to make it less visible from the street and preserve the main building.

Willis Bristol House // 1845

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The Willis Bristol House on Chapel Street in the Wooster Square neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut, is one of the finest and most architecturally distinctive residences in New England. Built in 1845 for Willis Bristol (1804-1875), a partner in the shoe manufacturer of Bristol & Hall, the home was designed by Connecticut architect, Henry Austin, who designed many of the other great mansions in Wooster Square around this period. The Bristol House is Italianate in style with Exotic Revival detailing which has often been described as Moorish Revival, but it is actually more Indian Revival, an extreme rarity in 19th century New England. It is believed that Henry Austin was influenced by an illustration of columns and capitals at the Ellora Caves in India published by Henry Repton in Designs for the Pavilion at Brighton (1808) and through this worked picked up a fascination with Indian architecture that was to influence his designs in the mid-19th century. Many of Austin’s designs in Wooster Square feature these Indianesque columns on their porches. The Willis Bristol House remained in the family until 1876 and was subsequently used as a congregation house, school, beauty parlor, and presently as apartments. The owners should be commended for preserving and protecting this ornate and unique residence for all to enjoy.

Draper Corporation Factory Complex // 1892-2021

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2021 aerial photo

Hopedale, Massachusetts separated from Milford and incorporated in 1886. The “downtown” of the community encompasses industrial, institutional, and residential buildings in Hopedale Village, also known as Draper Village after the long-driver of the local economy, Draper Corporation. Hopedale was largely developed as a planned company town, and its architectural significance and ultimate preservation was largely due to the success of the Draper Corporation as majority owner until the 1950s. The Draper Corporation was originally a small operation in Hopedale in 1841 managed by George Draper (1817-1887), but grew exponentially thanks to his son, George Albert Draper (1855-1926), who had a passion for finding innovative technology to make the production of cloth more efficient. He led the company’s charge to become the nation’s leading producer of machines for the cloth-making industry. In the ensuing decades the factory village of Hopedale became a “model” company town under his leadership, with the business controlling every aspect of the town and worker life in a paternalistic program that extended beyond social structure to include architecture and urban planning of the village. The company developed hundreds of homes for workers, a town hall, library, churches, schools, a fire station, and recreational facilities, along with its factory complex at the center. In1892, with the advent of the Northrop Loom, Draper became the largest producer of textile machinery in the country. Due to their success at the end of the 19th century, much of the complex was built and rebuilt in fire-proof brick factory buildings with large windows to allow light and air into the facilities. Draper’s dominant position within the textile machine manufacturing industry began to erode shortly after World War II, and the company began to sell its company houses to their occupants as private homes in 1956. During the 1960s American textile machinery makers such as Draper lost their technological leadership to foreign manufacturers due to cheap labor, and the general American textile industry collapsed. The plant eventually closed in 1980, and sat vacant until it was decided by the local officials to raze the once great complex, as adaptive reuse was not feasible in the market for such large structures. The mill was demolished in the summer of 2021 and the lot at the center of town remains a brownfield site.