Colonial America

Old Town House, Marblehead // 1727

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By the early 18th century, Marblehead had grown from a small fishing village to one of the most affluent and influential seaports in the colonies. This new wealth and the increasing secularization of government led town officials in 1727 to fund and build a Town House, to replace the Old Meeting House from 1696. The upper level of the building served as a town hall, while the lower level was originally used as a market. The Town House was later the gathering place to protest the Stamp Act and the Boston Port Act, and was a primary location for Sons of Liberty to meet and discuss Revolution. After Independence, the Town House was host to such dignitaries as presidents George Washington, Adams, Jackson and Munroe, Samuel Adams, John Hancock and the Marquis de Lafayette. The building would eventually be replaced as the town hall when the new Abbot Hall was built in 1876. The top floor became the GAR Museum, established after the Civil War as The Grand Army of the Republic veterans organization. The main floor houses meeting and exhibition space. The iconic Revolutionary-era Georgian building has been lovingly maintained and restored for nearly 300 years, a testament to the historic and architectural significance of this handsome structure.

Knight-Tutt House // c.1750

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The Knight-Tutt House on Franklin Street in downtown Marblehead, Massachusetts, is a great example of a pre-Revolutionary Georgian home built for the working class. The house, like its neighbor, has a three-bay, side-hall facade with a large, central chimney. The residence was built around 1750 for William Knight (1722-1799), who worked as a shoreman, loading and unloading the many ships that docked in Marblehead harbor. By 1850, the house was jointly owned by an F. Bateman and William Russell Tutt, a shoemaker. The residence remains one of a large number of well-preserved Colonial homes in the town of Marblehead, a testament to preservation planning and its effect on streetscapes and vibrant communities.

Russell-Goodwin House // c.1750

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Marblehead is one of the oldest towns in America, first settled by colonists in 1629 and incorporated twenty years later. For the following decades, the coastal community grew, and was even one of the ten largest towns and cities in the colonies in 1790! From this history, the town has worked to preserve the unique character and walkable warren of narrow streets, that makes the town feel so charming and a great place to visit. There are dozens of pre-Revolution houses in Marblehead’s downtown area, including this side-hall Georgian house on Franklin Street, with a neighboring “sister house”. The residence dates to about 1750 and was occupied early on by Richard Russell, who according to the house plaque, was a fisherman. Later, in 1850, the house was occupied by John Goodwin Jr., who fought in the Civil War, and ultimately lost his life in the Battle of Roanoke Island, on February 8, 1862, when he was killed when he was struck in the chest by a cannonball. After his death, local Marblehead veterans established the G.A.R. Hall, John Goodwin Jr. Post 82 in his honor. The Russell-Goodwin House remains one of the many charming Colonial-era houses in Marblehead’s walkable village, telling a story of the generations of families who made this coastal community home.

Parker-Maynard Homestead // 1777

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Hidden away on a quiet country road in Westborough, Massachusetts, the Parker-Maynard Homestead sits as one of the best-preserved and significant properties in town. Revolutionary War veteran Isaac Parker (1750-1798), after the war, acquired land in town and built a farmhouse here around 1777. Upon the time of his death in 1798, his property listed in his will included: a homestead farm, grist mill, saw mill, a small dwelling house, a horse stable, and a pew at the town meetinghouse. The property was acquired by brothers Ebenezer and Ephraim Maynard, who lived in the house together with their respective families. The Maynard brothers worked as wheelwrights and had their shop on the property for years. Ephraim Maynard’s eldest son, Horace Maynard (1814-1882) was born here and after graduating from Amherst College, moved to Tennessee to teach law at East Tennessee University before getting into politics. Horace served in Congress between 1858-1873 as a representative from Knoxville. He spent much of his first two terms in Congress fighting to preserve the Union, and during the Civil War, he consistently urged President Abraham Lincoln to send Union forces to free East Tennessee from its Confederate occupiers. After the war, he was appointed minister to Constantinople by President Grant in 1875. In 1880 he returned to the United States and was appointed Postmaster General by President Rutherford B. Hayes. Horace owned the family homestead following the death of his father and uncle, and often returned to Westborough to see family and get away from politics.

Rev. Ebenezer Parkman House // 1750

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Reverend Ebenezer Parkman (1703-1782) was a graduate of Harvard University and served as the first minister in Westborough, Massachusetts, from 1724 until his death. The town’s first meetinghouse was located on Powder Hill; however, in 1748, the community decided to build a new meetinghouse closer to the town center. In 1750, the town built Reverend Parkman a second parsonage, this large Georgian house, closer to the meetinghouse which would accommodate his growing family. It is said that when built, some members of the church felt the home was too grand and luxurious for the minister and particularly made reference to the numerous windows as glass was an expensive commodity at the time. From his residence and serving as the town’s minister for 58 years, Parkman watched his town grow from an English settlement on the fringe of civilization to a prosperous village in the independent United States. Parkman’s insights into the life of these times are recorded in his daily journal, now housed at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester. It has also been digitized, providing a glimpse into daily life at the time. The house was originally located nearby but relocated in 1867 to its present location on High Street, where it remains in a great state of preservation. 

John Carter House // c.1765

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One of the many stunning and well-preserved Colonial homes in Canterbury, Connecticut is this residence, the John Carter House on S. Canterbury Road. Records show that the house was built around 1765 for John Carter and his wife, Mary Smith. This house is a good example of the domestic architecture of 18th-century Connecticut and while there have been some changes over time, it continues to exhibit all the major hallmarks of the colonial type, such as a center-chimney plan, clapboard exterior, and five-bay facade. The house originally had a saltbox roof sloping to the rear, but was removed sometime in the 19th or 20th centuries, likely when the projecting Colonial Revival-era porch was added at the entrance. What a spectacular home!

Samuel Pellett House // c.1752

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The Samuel Pellett House in Canterbury, Connecticut, dates to the mid-18th century and is an excellent example of a Colonial-era home in this part of the state. Research in the land records suggests that this house may date from the time of Samuel Pellett’s second marriage in 1752 to Hannah Underwood. The couple planted two sycamore trees in front of the house to signify husband and wife but one was lost in the 1938 hurricane while the other survives to this day. According to historians, Sarah Harris Fayerweather, the first Black student at Prudence Crandall’s school nearby, worked as a servant in this house, then owned by Jedediah Shepard. The Pellett House is an excellent example of a Colonial Georgian home in Connecticut, with clapboard siding, center chimney, five-bay facade and small pane sash windows. 

Huntington Homestead // c.1715

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The Huntington Homestead in Scotland, Connecticut, was the birthplace and boyhood home of Samuel Huntington (1731–1796), a Founding Father, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a distinguished statesman during the Revolutionary War and early Republic. The remarkably well-preserved site includes an eighteenth century house on its original foundation surrounded by acres of farmland and is now protected as a museum. The house was built sometime between the transfer of land in 1715 from Deacon Joseph Huntington to his son Nathaniel, and Nathaniel’s marriage in 1723 to Mehetabel Thurston. As originally constructed, the house consisted of a two-story structure with an end chimney on the west end and one large room on each floor. By the time of Nathanielís death in 1767, the house had been doubled in size with the addition of two rooms west of the chimney, giving the house its current five-bay form. The Georgian style Colonial-era home features a symmetrical facade, twelve-over-twelve windows, and a saltbox roof and is one of the finest Colonial-era homes in this part of the state.

Shaw-Thurston Double House // c.1760

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This pre-Revolutionary double-house is located at 128-130 Prospect Hill Street in the architectural historian paradise that is Newport, Rhode Island. This property was originally platted and purchased in 1752 by Anthony Shaw. By 1760, local papers advertised the property for sale, giving a built-by date. In 1777, the house was owned by Anthony Shaw Jr. and John Thurston. The property was purchased before the Civil War and went into single-ownership, which has remained to this day. The house, while seemingly a single-family, is preserved lovingly by the owners, who even retained the second front door!

Wright Homestead // 1767

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This large, brick gambrel-roofed Colonial home in West Goshen, Connecticut, was built over decades beginning before the American Revolution and has remained in the same family ever-since! In 1767, Captain Jabez Wright (1737-1813) married Martha Baldwin of Goshen, and began constructing this farmhouse of brick. When the war broke out, he fought in New York, he also served as captain of a company of Connecticut militia, turning out to repel the British forces at New Haven. He would largely complete the home by 1787, and ultimately died in 1813. After successive ownership of generations of the Wright family, the property was owned by Henry G. Wright (1831-1917), a farmer who represented Goshen in the state legislature and held many town positions. The first Methodist sermons in town were also held in the home. Henry Wright died at 86 years old on this property, after being attacked by a bull. When entertaining guests, he showed others a prized bull, and possibly fell into the pen, and was trampled and attacked. The Wright Homestead is unique for its brickwork with bonds and burned headers, resembling many Colonial-era homes in Virginia, but this house can be found on the back roads of Goshen, Connecticut!

Thomas Haines House // 1681

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There aren’t many extant buildings with direct ties to the Salem witch trials of the 1690s, but this First Period house on Centre Street in Danvers is one of them! This is the Thomas Haines House, built in 1681 for Thomas Haines. During the witchcraft hysteria of 1692, Thomas testified in the trials of Elizabeth Howe and John Willard, who were accused of witchcraft. Elizabeth would be executed by hanging on July 19, 1692 and John was hanged on August 19, 1692. Less than a year following the frenzy of the trials, Thomas received a license to keep a public house of entertainment & sell strong drink as an innholder. He remained here until 1703, when he sold his home and land to John Allen, a gunsmith, and removed to Salem, New Jersey. The First Period home with saltbox roof is in great condition and was restored to its historic appearance in the 20th century. The property is privately owned.

Jeremiah Page House // 1754

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In 1754, a 32-year-old brickmaker Jeremiah Page built this large, gambrel-roofed Georgian house in Danvers, Massachusetts, for his young family. Jeremiah and his first wife, Sarah, raised nine children here and dreamed of liberty from England. Following the Tea Act, passed by British Parliament in 1773 that granted the British East India Company Tea a monopoly on tea sales in the American colonies, Page was said to have demanded that “none shall drink tea in my house.” One evening when her husband was out, Sarah Page is said to have invited several women from the neighborhood up to the porch atop the Page House’s gambrel roof to enjoy tea. Larcom quotes Page as telling her friends, “Upon a house is not within it,” thereby finding a loophole around her husband’s directive. This legend was enshrined in the poem “The Gambrel Roof” (1874) by Lucy Larcom, who knew Sarah Page’s granddaughter. Jeremiah Page would fight in the Revolution, serving as a Captain. The Page House remained in the family for two more generations, Sarah Page’s daughter in-law, Mary Page died in 1876 and her will put the property into a trust with the stipulation that once there were no longer any Page descendants to live there, the historic house was to be torn down. After Mary Page’s daughter Anne Lemist Page died in 1913, the trustee planned to demolish it according to her wishes. The Danvers Historical Society sprung into action and sued to oppose the will, fighting to preserve this significant home. They won, and relocated the home a block from Elm Street to its present site on Page Street, where it stands today. The Danvers Historical Society maintain the structure to this day, including the “porch” at the roof where the tea party once took place.

Copp’s Hill Burying Ground // 1659

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Happy Halloween! Welcome to Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, a historic cemetery nestled in Boston’s historic North End. Established in 1659, it served as a burial site for some of Boston’s earliest settlers and notable figures, including craftsmen, merchants, and members of the influential Mather family. Also burie here is abolitionist and leader in the free black community in Boston, Prince Hall. Originally called North Burying Ground, Copp’s Hill was the second place of interment on the Boston peninsula and was laid out in 1659. The area acquired its present name through its association with William Copp (1589-1670), a shoemaker and early settler who lived near today’s Prince Street; ironically, his stone is no longer standing.

The cemetery is particularly known for its distinct slate gravestones, many adorned with intricate carvings that reflect the artistry of the era. Over the centuries, it has witnessed significant events, including the American Revolution, when it was used as a lookout point for British troops. During the Revolution, the burying ground’s prominent location overlooking the harbor gave it strategic military importance. At its southwest side the British established their North Battery and an earthworks from which they directed the shelling of Bunker Hill and ultimately the torching of Charlestown. Legend has it that British troops used gravestones for target practice. Many have interpreted the round scars on the gravestone of Captain Daniel Malcolm, an ardent son of liberty who spoke against Britain, as the result of musketballs shot at close range. The cemetery was used continually until the 1850s and is today, an evocative reminder of Boston’s early days, drawing visitors who seek to connect with the city’s storied history amidst its tranquil surroundings while the city stretches upwards around it. The cemetery is open and free to visit most of the year and is a great place to stroll and learn about Boston’s early history and see amazing stone carving!

Isaac Appleton Homestead // 1756

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One of the oldest (if not the oldest) extant houses in Ipswich, New Hampshire is this Colonial home on Appleton Road, which gets its name from the first owner, Isaac Appleton. Deacon Isaac Appleton III (1731-1806) was one of the town’s original settlers who came to New Ipswich from Ipswich, Massachusetts. He held the office of town clerk and of selectman and was a deacon for thirty years. He responded to the call to arms from Concord to fight in the American Revolution. Deacon Isaac Appleton III was the father of Samuel Appleton, a wealthy Boston merchant; and Nathan Appleton, a merchant and politician in Boston and head of the famous Appleton Family which would influence Boston business and politics for generations. Samuel Appleton would fund and establish the Appleton Academy in New Ipswich, the second oldest in New Hampshire after Phillips Exeter Academy. The Isaac Appleton Homestead remains in a great state of preservation and sits just outside the town center.

Image from real estate listing.

Asa Kendall House // c.1790

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The Asa Kendall House is a significant Federal period house from the late 18th century on Richardson Road in Ashby, Massachusetts. The house here is actually believed to be the second built on this location, the first being the John Fitch House and Garrison. John Fitch was one of the earliest settlers in present-day Ashby, which in the mid-1700s, was sparsely developed and threats of attack by Native peoples limited development for decades. Due to raising tensions in the years leading up to the French and Indian War, Fitch petitioned the government for a garrison manned by three soldiers, which was approved. In 1745, the garrison was attacked and Fitch with his family, were kidnapped by Native Americans, held hostage for six months and brought up to Canada. The homestead and garrison were burned. He and his family were ransomed and would later return settling elsewhere in town. The former location of the garrison was purchased by Asa Kendall and this house was built around 1790 for him. The brick house with sloping wings was extensively documented as part of the Historic American Building Survey in 1936 and has been preserved by later owners ever-since!