Vernacular/No Style

Old New Ipswich Town Hall // 1817

Buildings of New England1 Comment

New Ipswich, New Hampshire, is a town that oozes New England charm! Winding back roads are lined with Colonial-era homes and buildings, lovingly maintained by stewards and neighbors to create the quintessential small town feeling. New Ipswich was granted in 1735 to 60 inhabitants of Ipswich, Massachusetts, where the name is derived, by colonial Governor Jonathan Belcher and the General Court of Massachusetts. European settlement began here in 1738, when Abijah Foster arrived to the area with his wife and infant daughter. At the center of town, a new Town Hall was built in 1817 as a combination town hall and private academy with funds provided by the town government and by the trustees of New Ipswich Academy. The building was constructed under the direction of Deacon Nathaniel Gould, using materials salvaged from a disused meetinghouse of 1770. The arched gable window is reputed to have been taken from the meeting house, as are twisted balusters on the gallery stairway inside. As completed in 1817, the building had a full second floor which provided the academy with a lecture room, a small library, and a laboratory, but that was taken over by 1869 when the Town renovated the building, removing a tower and belfry, and occupied the second floor spaces. The building is still owned by the town, and is used occasionally for civic functions, with town offices in a mundane, newer building a short distance away.

Margaret Hamilton House – Witch’s House // 1852

Buildings of New England4 Comments
Photo by Paul VanDerWerf

This house sits alone on Cape Island off the southern tip of Southport, Maine and has been known as the “Witch’s House” for decades. The island was purchased by actress Margaret Hamilton and her son, Hamilton “Ham” Meserve in 1961. The 20-acre island is about 900 feet from the mainland and includes this adapted farmhouse, originally built in 1852. Margaret Hamilton, best-known for her role as the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz, spent her summers in this house until her death in 1985. The island to this day is lovingly referred to as the Witch’s Island, a nod to a great actress and woman, Margaret Hamilton.

Southport General Store and Barn // 1895

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

In 1882, Edward Everett Pinkham, known as Everett, opened a new store in one side of his house on Hendrick Hill in the island community of Southport, Maine. The store was known for years as E. E. Pinkham and Son. Everett soon built a proper store adjacent to his house. He served the Town of Southport in many capacities: Postmaster, Town Clerk (1887-1905) Treasurer (1883), and Selectman (1888-1893). Sadly, on May 21, 1895, the store and house burned along with all of the old town records inside. The community helped Everett rebuild the present general store before the busy summer season. Edward’s son “Charlie”, would take over the business and the building has served as the town’s social center ever since. Year-round and summer residents bump into eachother at the store, catch up, and share local news, like every general store should be! Sadly, in so many communities, the “general store” has been replaced by big box retailers or convenience stores, removing the sense of community or place, so these businesses are more important than ever!

Southport Town Hall // 1866

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

While staying at the Spruce Point Inn in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, I took the chance to visit the nearby island-town of Southport! The town of Southport incorporated in 1842 when it separated from Boothbay and became known as Townsend, Maine. Just eight years later, in 1850, Townsend changed its name to Southport, after Southport, England. The town has a population of just over 600, which grows in the summer months as the island and nearby Squirrel Island (also a part of Southport) has many summer homes dotted along the coastline. The present-day Southport Town Hall was built in 1866 by the Ladies Sewing Circle of the Southport Methodist Episcopal Church as a meeting place for the women of town to meet and socialize, it also was rented to the town for town meetings. Eventually, the town purchased the building in 1900, where it has remained the town hall ever since.

Sherman’s Livery & Garage – Maine Trading Post // 1908

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

This vernacular, shingled structure was built in 1908 to house two very different modes of transportation, horses and automobiles. The structure here is located in the charming village of Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Sherman’s Livery and Garage held stalls for horses on the ground floor with an elevator that moved hay, carriages and sleighs to the upper floor. Owners of horses could board them here and many would rent their horses to visitors who arrived to town by steamer, from this location. The building was set up for automobiles as well, but that began in earnest by 1915 when two Ford touring cars were added to the inventory here. Today, the building is known as the Maine Trading Post and houses Kaler’s Restaurant.

Burnt Island Light // 1821

Buildings of New England1 Comment

The Burnt Island Light Station was built in 1821 on the west side of the entrance to Boothbay Harbor, opposite the Spruce Point Inn (which I kayaked from to get a better view of this lighthouse). The federal government purchased the island for $150 from local businessmen Jacob Auld and Joseph McCobb. The government’s builders constructed a stone lighthouse and keeper’s dwelling using granite blocks cut from the island. The lighthouse was built on Burnt Island, which took its name from the historic practice of burning the island’s vegetation in order to keep the land clear for sheep grazing. Its purpose was the guidance of ships, the carriers of cargo destined for the development of industry and commerce, into Boothbay Harbor over a mile away. Built just one year before Maine became a state, the Burnt Island Light Station has served mariners for over 200 years. In fact, it’s considered the state’s oldest unaltered lighthouse, and it was manned until 1988 when the light was automated. In 1998, the island and light station were transferred to the State of Maine Department of Marine Resources as part of the Maine Lighthouse Program.

Former Schrafft’s Candy Factory – Converse HQ // 1907

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Possibly my favorite building in the Bulfinch Triangle/North Station area of Boston is this brick behemoth. Known as the Schrafft’s Candy Factory, Hoffman Building, Lovejoy Wharf, Submarine Signal Building, etc., the building was constructed in 1907 from plans by Codman & Despradelle and first-occupied by the Schrafft’s Candy Company. It held the candy makers until 1928, when Schrafft’s moved to Charlestown, building their massive factory in Sullivan Square. A landmark in the Panel Brick style of architecture, prevalent in industrial and multi-family structures in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the old factory saw many later uses from cold storage, to a Submarine Signal Co. before it was largely vacant by the end of the 20th century. Through Preservation Tax Credits and grants, developer Related Beal was able to reimagine the building, restoring it to its former glory. The Architectural Team (TAT) oversaw the renovations and expansion of the building with a glass crown with the project accommodating the corporate headquarters for world-renowned sneaker manufacturer, Converse.

Boston Flatiron – The Boxer Hotel // 1900

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The interesting street-layout of the Bulfinch Triangle area of Boston created some oddly shaped triangular building lots which for decades, saw only small, modest wood-frame structures built upon them. By 1900, Boston’s own Flatiron Building (built two years before New York’s more iconic example) was constructed on this site and it has been an icon ever since. The structure was built by ownerCharles Pelham Curtis III (1860-1948), who was born in Boston and graduated from Harvard Law School and became a police commissioner and attorney in the city before moving into real estate development. He hired architect Stephen Codman to design this commercial block, which was rented out to local businesses and professional offices. The building has been home to a hotel for a number of decades, with a major renovation undertaken beginning in 2000, 100 years after the building was constructed. Three floors were added to the top of the original six-story, which are Modernistic in design with large expanses of windows within three center bays that align with the bays of the original building and which are defined by brick piers. The hotel today, The Boxer Hotel, perfectly blends the history of the building with modernity and style. What a gem of a building!

Peep Toad Mill // c.1850

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Peep Toad Mill (also known as the Elliottville Lower Mill) was built in Killingly, Connecticut, around 1850 by the Elliottville Manufacturing Company, whose larger main mill was upstream from this complex. The Elliottville Manufacturing Company was formed in the 1830s and later acquired by Albert Elliott and Nelson Eddy, who expanded operations here. This structure, the lower Mill was used for spinning and preparing the warps for cotton sheetings, the firm’s principal product. In 1870, the two mills employed 18 women, 18 children and 13 men. The business closed in the 1880s, and the building was vacant for some time before being converted to a residence and artist studio. The old mill is a rare surviving example of a wood-frame textile mill, many of which were built but few of which survive, due to fires and/or later expansion of the premises. The present owners have done an amazing job restoring and maintaining this rare treasure!

Thompson Ice House // c.1826

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

In 1826, a man named Asa Thompson, dammed a small brook from natural springs on his property in present-day South Bristol, Maine, and created Thompson Pond. He began cutting ice blocks for his own use. His neighbors began to purchase blocks of ice from him and he built this ice house sometime after to store blocks after harvesting from the pond. Thompson created a business, harvesting, shipping and selling ice blocks to residents in town and beyond. The property remained in the Thompson family until 1987, when it was gifted to a non-profit board to preserve the site indefinitely. Today, the Thompson Ice House Harvesting Museum showcases the tools of the trade with a participatory ice harvest takes place there annually. The building is opened on appointments or certain events.

S Road Schoolhouse // 1860

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The S Road Schoolhouse is the last-remaining one-room schoolhouse in the charming coastal town of South Bristol, Maine. The structure was built in 1860 as the District Five School for the Town of Bristol (South Bristol set off and incorporated as a separate town in 1915). This building replaced an earlier schoolhouse on the site that was on the 1857 Map of Lincoln County. By 1895, enrollment was about 16 but rose to the mid-twenties after other schools closed in the early 1900’s. The school is said to have closed in 1943 following the death of the teacher here, it never reopened. The South Bristol Historical Society recently restored the building following a successful capital campaign, gathering funds from members and town citizens, preserving this lasting remnant of days past.

Wadsworth Hall // 1800

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Wadsworth Hall is a significant and hidden estate house located in rural Hiram, Maine. The house was built in 1800 for Peleg Wadsworth (1748-1829), an officer during the American Revolutionary War and a Congressman from Massachusetts representing the District of Maine. He was also grandfather of noted American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. General Wadsworth’s primary residence, now known as the Wadsworth-Longfellow House in Portland, Maine, was built in 1785–86. Following the war, Wadsworth was granted 7,800 acres of land by the state in 1790 for his war service, the land was located here in Hiram. General Wadsworth would build this large Federal period home. After, he gave his Portland home to his daughter Zilpah and her husband Stephen Longfellow, parents of the poet Henry W. Longfellow. Wadsworth, in his role as a leading citizen in Hiram, opened his house for meetings and town functions, and even used the large hall for militia drills during bad weather.

Hiram Lodge 39, Knights of Pythias // 1895

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Another of the extant, significant vernacular buildings in the small town of Hiram, Maine, is this large frame building on Main Street. Hiram Lodge #39, Knights of Pythias, was organized in 1883 and a building was constructed on this site around that time. The first meeting hall was destroyed by fire in 1895, and soon-after replaced by this large lodge building, which is possibly the largest wooden building in town!  On the destruction of that first “hall” by fire in 1895, the Lodge hired Alva Ward to build what is probably the largest wooden building extant in Hiram. The Knights of Pythias Hall is important as a remnant of Hiram’s earlier commercial prosperity, with general store on the first floor, a large hall on the second floor (where dances, theatrical performances, and public suppers were held), and the lodge hall on the third floor.

Mount Cutler Grange Hall // 1875

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The two-and-a-half story Mount Cutler Grange Hall in Hiram, Maine, is a plain but important vernacular structure near the western end of the town’s Main Street. Originally organized in 1875 by local farmers, the local grange was able to dedicate its present building in late December of that year. Attributed to local builder James Lot Hill, the clapboard-covered frame building has a three-bay facade and retains its original windows. Once the site of grange store, the well-preserved structure still displays a fine late-nineteenth century sign above its first story. Little changed over the years, the Mount Cutler Grange Hall remains an important part of Hiram’s social fabric, but appears vacant or largely unused. Hopefully some life can be brought back to this significant building (and other abandoned Grange Halls in New England).

Mount Cutler School // 1882

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The cross-gabled, two-and-a-half story Mount Cutler School was built in 1883, possibly by local builder James Lot Hill, and is a well-preserved example of a district school in Hiram, Maine. A very late example of the Greek Revival style utilized for an educational facility, the structure displays a gabled facade with closed pediment highlighted at the center by a diamond-paned triangular window. The building, used solely as a grammar school (except from 1922-30 when a two-year high school operated in one room) replaced a similar structure which burned in February of 1883. The Mount Cutler School served the youth of Hiram from 1883-1967 and again in 1974-78. Its second floor now houses the collections of the Hiram Historical Society and it has been preserved ever since.