Cottage

Point Rock Cottage // c.1894

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One of the many beautiful late 19th century shingled “cottages” overlooking Sippican Harbor in Marion, Massachusetts, Point Rock Cottage stands out not only for its siting on the waterfront, but also for its preservation. As any good summer cottage must have a name, Point Rock Cottage derives its name from its location overlooking the rocky coast and Sippican Harbor on the tip of the village. The Shingle style cottage was built for David W. Lewis (1833-1915) of Boston, who purchased the land in 1893 and had the house built soon after. Lewis began his career in the retail shoe business in Vermont until he enlisted in the Union Army in 1862, serving in the 9th Vermont Volunteer Regiment. Lewis rose to the rank of major and saw action in several major campaigns of the war. After the war, David Lewis married Elizabeth T. Willett and they moved to Hyde Park in Boston where he shifted professions and became a dealer in building materials, which he saw immediate success as many Boston areas saw development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The architect is not presently known, but it is probable that the cottage was designed by William Gibbons Preston or Charles Allerton Coolidge, both Boston architects who designed many of Marion’s summer homes and both of whom summered in Marion themselves. Architecturally, the residence is a blending of Shingle and Arts and Crafts styles with the low-pitched roof and continuous shingled cottage encircled by a one-story integrated porch supported by wood shingle clad rectangular posts with a Chinese-fret work railing.

Rev. John C. Brooks Cottage // c.1891

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One of the finest cottages in the coastal community of Marion, Massachusetts, is found tucked away behind the larger Shingled mansions overlooking the harbor; and while smaller in stature, it packs an architectural punch! This is the Rev. John C. Brooks cottage, constructed c.1891 as a blend of Shingle and the emerging Arts & Crafts styles in a bungalow form. The cottage, designed by Boston architect and summer resident of Marion, William Gibbons Preston,  was built as a summer residence for Revered John Cotton Brooks (1849-1907) who descended on his father’s side from the New England Puritan clergymen, John Cotton and Cotton Mather. Like many in his family, Rev. John C. Brooks joined the ministry in the Episcopal Church and was the rector of Christ Church in Springfield from 1878 until his death in 1907. He was also the younger brother of famed preacher and theologian, Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), rector of Trinity Church Boston, Episcopal bishop of Massachusetts, and a frequent visitor to Marion, which likely inspired him to build his own summer residence here. John Brooks was additionally a colleague of Reverend Percy Browne, for whom their friend and Trinity Church architect, Henry Hobson Richardson, designed the first Shingle Style house in Marion. After Reverend Brooks died in Paris in 1907, the family sold the property to David Rice (1856-1932), the brother of noted Boston architect Arthur W. Rice, who too summered in Marion at this cottage. While somewhat altered, the cottage stands out architecturally for its varied shingle types, an integrated porch spanning the façade supported by paired square posts and a shingled knee wall, and paired gable dormers linked by a blind shed-roofed dormer which is faced with a panel with applied rectangular fretwork. 

Browne-Hosmer Cottage // 1881

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This Shingle style home in Marion was designed for Reverend William Percy Browne (1838-1901), who was educated at Kenyon College in Ohio alongside John Cotton Brooks, the youngest brother of Phillips Brooks, who would become the Rector of Boston’s Trinity Church and briefly Bishop of Massachusetts. Brooks would hire H.H. Richardson to design Trinity Church in Boston in the early 1870s. From this connection and being members of the St. Botolph Club of Boston, Reverend William Percy Browne and H.H. Richardson began a working relationship designing Browne’s summer cottage in Marion. The legend is that at the club, Browne bet Richardson that he could not design a small house for $2,500. Browne lost. This modest house was completed in 1882 and represented an early, significant example of a Shingle style home in Massachusetts. Browne died in 1901 and the house was sold to Sidney Hosmer, a Boston electrical engineer. Under his ownership, the home was expanded and altered, likely from plans by Charles Allerton Coolidge, Boston architect who summered in Marion. The cottage was eventually purchased by Tabor Academy, who in 2019, pulled a demolition permit for the house. Architects and historians quickly rallied and advocated for the preservation of the cottage, saving it from the wrecking ball, for now. The cottage remains vacant and no definitive plans as of 2026 have been unveiled to sell the property or restore it.


Frederick B. Cutler Cottage // c.1903

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One of the most interesting houses in Marion, Massachusetts, is the Frederick Cutler Cottage, at the corner of Water and Lewis streets which was split in the 1970s to create two homes. The Cutler Cottage was originally built around 1903 for Frederick Barker Cutler (1861-1946), partner in the firm of Stetson, Cutler & Company in Boston, a building materials company who sold everything from long lumber and shingles to lime. For his summer cottage in Marion, Cutler hired noted Boston architect Herbert Langford Warren, founding principal of Warren, Smith & Biscoe, to furnish plans for the Arts and Crafts style dwelling of shingles, stone and brick. In the 1970s, the owner separated the house into two detached dwellings and moved them to separate lots. Both parts of the Cutler Cottage have since been renovated and further expanded, but retain much of their original qualities.

Waters – Dyer Cottage // c.1890

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Benjamin E. Waters (1863-1962) was a local businessman and real estate developer in Marion by the end of the 19th century. He acquired a large property not far from the beach, in the middle of a high-class residential enclave and developed the property, running a small dirt path through the middle, known today as Pie Alley. He built three large Shingle style homes between 1890-1895 and appears to have rented them out to wealthy residents. This residence, the largest, features a broad gambrel roof with saltbox slope towards the rear, dormers, and a wrap-around porch facing Buzzards Bay. The house is entirely clad in cedar shingles, a common sight in this part of town. The home remained part of the larger parcel and was rented out until after WWII, when it was purchased by Holmes M. Dyer (1913-1997), a sales executive for the Acushnet Company of New Bedford. The architect of the home is not widely known, but it is probably the work of William Gibbons Preston or Charles Allerton Coolidge, both prominent Boston architects who summered in Marion and designed many of the Shingle style cottages here in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Delano House // 1902

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This early 20th century home on Cottage Street in the South Coast community of Marion, Massachusetts, was built in 1902 for Hattie F. Delano and Walton S. Delano, a descendant of the great Delano family in Massachusetts. Walton worked in nearby Wareham at A. S. Gurney and Company, dealers in coal, grain and flour. The house is unique as it is in the American Foursquare form, a type of home built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The hallmarks of the style include a basically square, boxy design, two-and-one-half stories high, usually with four large, boxy rooms to a floor, a center dormer, and a large front porch with wide stairs. This example stands out for the shingle siding, flared eaves and rubblestone foundation, a nod to the more rustic summer cottages built in Marion in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Charles A. Coolidge Cottage // c.1903

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When an architect designs a house for their own use, you know it is going to be special. This is the Charles A. Coolidge Cottage in East Marion, on the South Shore of Massachusetts. American architect, Charles Allerton Coolidge (1858-1936), was born in Boston as a member of a Brahmin family. He graduated from Harvard College in 1877 and studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, later entering the office of the well-known firm of Ware & Van Brunt. He later joined the firm of renowned architect Henry Hobson Richardson in 1883 and soon after the death of Richardson in 1886, he formed a partnership with George Shepley and Charles Rutan, two other Richardson architects. Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge went on to become one of the most prominent architecture firms of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, performing major residential and institutional work in Boston and across the United States. Charles Coolidge married Julia Shepley of St. Louis, sister of his business partner, in 1889, and the couple would begin planning their summer retreat in the coastal community of Marion. The couple purchased a site already containing a residence and lived there before building this cottage around 1903 in the fashionable Shingle style. The over the years, various out-buildings were constructed on the site for his children’s cottages and other various uses. The property remains part of the Coolidge Family and is a private residence. The Coolidge Cottage is entirely clad in shingles, a hallmark of the Shingle style of architecture, and features broad gambrel roof forms and sweeping porches supported by shingled columns. Photo is courtesy of Lynn Smiledge.

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.

Briggs House // c.1820

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This tiny half-cape house on Main Street in the harbor town of Marion, Massachusetts, was likely built around 1820 for Silas Briggs (1792-1833), a mariner, who married Desire Clark a year prior. Silas would pass away by 1833, leaving Desire widowed to raise three children and maintain their home. When he came of age, the house was inherited by Timothy H. Briggs, who followed his father’s footsteps to become a sea captain. Timothy lived here with his wife, Josephine and elderly mother, never needing to expand the home into a full cape like what was done to so many other residences in the mid-19th century. Captain Timothy Briggs died in 1877 while at sea and his widow too lived in the home into the 20th century. The old Briggs House retains its original half-cape form, 12-over-12 sash windows, central chimney, and elaborate door surround, which makes the small but mighty cottage one of my favorites in Marion!

Angier Cottage // 1939

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A rare example of a brick house in the South Coast town of Marion, Massachusetts, the Angier Cottage on South Street stands out for its architectural qualities and unique roof form. The home was built as a permanent residence for Ms. Amelia Angier of Newton, a widow who relocated to the coastal community to spend her remaining years. The brick cottage was built in 1939 and local papers noted its unique roofline that resembled that of the Aptuxet Trading Post in nearby Bourne. The steeply pitched roof is adorned by three shed dormers with the entrance treated with a Colonial Revival style louvered fan.

Marion Old Post Office – Ryder Cottage // c.1830

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Built around 1830, this little cottage is among the many photogenic buildings found along the idyllic Main Street in Marion, Massachusetts. The structure is said to have been originally located behind the Congregational Church and moved to its current location after 1855. By 1879, the structure was converted to a residence and owned by Ms. Sarah Ryder, then the widow of John C. Ryder. The vernacular cottage is sheathed in weathered shingles, which enhances its beauty and connects it architecturally with the coastal community.

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.

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.

Cairncroft Cottage // 1892

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Set into the trees in Chocorua in Tamworth, Cairncroft stands as one of the many stately “cottages” built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for city-dwellers to escape the hot summers for the fresh air and views of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. This cottage was built for Emil Christian Hammer (1823-1894), who migrated to the
United States from Denmark in 1840, where he became a prominent businessman in several Boston business, including Waltham Manufacturing Company. In the mid-1880s, he founded the United States Watch Company in Waltham, one of the most important such companies in the country. From his success and connections, Emil was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln as Danish consul in 1864. Emil purchased the land here in 1886 and built a barn and ice house before having his home and nearby stone cairn built on the grounds; the latter is likely what gave the property its name. Cairncroft was designed by Boston architect, Edwin James Lewis, Jr., an expert at Arts and Crafts and Shingle style designs. After Emil’s death, just two years after his cottage was completed, the property passed to his wife, Martha. Her daughter, Cynthia Hollis and also an accomplished artist, inherited it later and eventually passed it to her husband, John Charles State Andrew, professor of theology at Harvard and Boston
University.

Chadwick Cottage // 1891

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One of the many summer cottages tucked away in the trees in the Chocorua Colony in Tamworth, New Hampshire, the Chadwick Cottage was built in 1890 for prominent gynecologist, Dr. James Read Chadwick (1844-1905). Dr. Chadwick was introduced to Chocorua during his summer visits to the White Mountains, where he and his family stayed at local hotels as early as 1876. He purchased seventeen acres of forest nearby Chocorua Lake in 1890 on which he erected this house and its outbuildings the following year. The design of the buildings is attributed to Boston architect, Clarence Howard Walker, who was affiliated with the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts and designed this rustic cottage to fit within the forest, enhancing the landscape surrounding it. Dr. James Chadwick was a professor at Harvard Medical School and a pioneer nationally in the field of gynecology, where he played a key role in organizing the American Gynecological Society. In 1905, while vacationing at his Tamworth cottage, Dr. Chadwick died following a fall from a piazza roof. The Chadwick Cottage was sold a year later to Lillian and William G. Farlow, a world-renowned authority on fungi and other non-flowering plants, likely a friend of the late Dr. Chadwick. The cottage and its associated out buildings are lovingly preserved over a century later and exemplify the best of summer cottages in New Hampshire.