Essex County History

Israel Putnam House // c.1648

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The General Israel Putnam House in Danvers, Massachusetts, was built circa 1648 by Lieutenant Thomas Putnam on farmland that then consisted of 100 acres. In 1692, his youngest son, Joseph Putnam, lived here, inheriting the property over his half-brother, Thomas Putnam, Jr. (1652-1699), causing friction within the family. During the infamous witch trials and hysteria in Salem Village, Joseph Putnam was one of two people who took notes during the examinations of the first three to be accused of witchcraft in 1692 – Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba. From that point forward, he was one of the most outspoken opponents of the proceedings, which put him in direct conflict with most of the Putnam family, especially that of his half-brother Thomas. Fearing accusations against him by his half-brother, Joseph was said to have kept horses saddled at all times, ready to escape at a moment’s notice. He was never accused, though Thomas Putnam was responsible for the accusations of 43 people, and his daughter was responsible for 62. In 1718, Israel Putnam, the son of Joseph Putnam, and later Commander of the colonial troops at the Battle of Bunker Hill, was born in this house. It is the only extant structure with direct ties to Commander Putnam. During the Battle of Bunker Hill, Putnam is thought to have ordered William Prescott to tell his troops, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.” This command has since become one of the American Revolution’s notable quotations. It was given to make the best use of the low ammunition stocks that the troops had. The Putnam House remained in the family into the 20th century, and due to highway and commercial expansion, the property now sits in the middle of a cloverleaf intersection of two highways. The house was given by the Putnam family to the Danvers Historical Society in 1991, but as of 2020, the Putnam family once again owns the property. The house is not holding up well and I could not locate plans for restoration or preservation of it online. This house deserves to be preserved.

Holten House // c.1670

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Built circa 1670 and today known as the Holten House, this large, First Period home can be found in Salem Village, present day Danvers, Massachusetts. While the house has been significantly expanded over the years, the original structure is at the eastern (right) end of the house that stands today and grew as families and living styles grew. The residence was first built for Benjamin Holten (Houlton) and was later occupied by Sarah Holten, who in 1692 gave testimony against Rebecca Nurse, who lived on a farm nearby, which led to her death in the Salem Witch Trials. During the American Revolutionary War, it was the home of Judge Samuel Holten, a Founding Father of the United States who served in the Continental Congress. The house was acquired by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1921 and was restored. It is open to tours by appointment.

Joshua Silvester House // 1857

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This large house sits on Peabody Avenue in Danvers, Massachusetts, and is thought to be the oldest house built of cement in the United States! Joshua Sylvester Silvester (1803-1888), the house’s original owner, was born in Wiscasset, Maine, and began working in the shoemaking business, expanding his products in England, taking many business trips there. While in England, he is said to have particularly admired Charles Dickens’s estate, Gad’s Hill, and modeled his Danvers home after it. Joshua Silvester not only designed this house, but directly supervised its construction which is of hand-poured cement/stucco by two masons imported to town to work on the house. The fifteen-room residence with octagon-shaped barn was complete by 1858. In 1880, the property was purchased by Isaac B. Howe of Clinton, Iowa. Howe was a civil engineer who had helped to lay out the Transcontinental Railroad and had been superintendent of the Iowa division of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad. Howe died within a year of moving to Danvers,
but his family continued to live in the house for many years.


Peabody Institute Library of Danvers // 1892

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In 1856, George Peabody, an American banker and philanthropist, donated funds for a library for Danvers, Massachusetts. The original library was housed in the Town Hall until land was acquired on land that is today known as Peabody Park. In 1866, Peabody deeded the town additional funds for a purpose-built library building, similar to that of Peabody, Massachusetts (which separated from Danvers in 1855). A Gothic style library was built on this site from plans by architect Gridley J. F. Bryant with the purpose “for the promotion of knowledge and morality in the Town of Danvers.” On July 2, 1890, a massive fire destroyed the Danvers library, but many of the collections and volumes were saved by townspeople. Through insurance funds and additional money by trustees, it was decided to rebuild the library on the same site, retaining the architectural firm of Little & Browne, (whose chief draftsman, Lester S. Couch, was a Danvers resident) to design the new building. The present Georgian/Classical Revival structure was completed in 1892 and is one of the finest library buildings in New England.  

Putnamville Schoolhouse // 1852

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Diminutive in scale, the one-room Putnamville Schoolhouse at 224 Locust Street in Danvers, Massachusetts, showcases a stark difference in scale and design to the later Wadsworth and Tapleyville schools in town. Built in 1852, the transitional Greek Revival and Italianate style schoolhouse served the more rural district number 3 in town. The first class of 42 pupils was taught by Miss Sophia C . Appleton who ranged from 5 to 15 years of age. Due to a consolidation of schools in town, the building finally closed in 1974. In 1976, the Danvers Art Association leased the building for years. It is unclear to me at this time what the school is used for. Does anyone know more?

Darling-Prince House // c.1680

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This large First Period house was built on the outskirts of Salem Village, now Danvers, Massachusetts, and moved to its present location in 1845. The residence was originally built around 1680 for John Darling (c.1637-1713), a mariner, who farmed the land here when he was not at sea or residing on the island of Monhegan in Maine (then a part of Massachusetts Bay Colony). John Darling (sometimes spelled Dollin or Dollen) died in 1713 and his estate went to his eldest son, Thomas, who farmed on the land there until the property was sold in 1734 to Dr. Jonathan Prince (c.1707-1753), one of the first resident physicians of Danvers, Massachusetts. Dr. Prince would practice medicine from his home and taught students the medical profession until he passed away at home in 1753. The home was later moved to its present site in 1845 by owner, John Hook, who likely expanded the home to its present configuration.

Mudge Family Cottage // 1852

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Edwin Mudge (1818-1890) was a major shoe manufacturer and a representative to the Massachusetts General Court. In 1844, he married Lydia Nichols Bryant, and in 1852, the couple hired Edwin’s brother, a carpenter, to build this house at 108 Centre Street in Danvers, Massachusetts. A son, Francis was born October 4, 1846, and his sister Lydianna was born March 20, 1853. Tragically, both brother and sister died in 1855 of what was described as “brain fever” or “dropsy in the head.” Frank, one month shy of 10 years of age, passed away on September 8, 1855, followed by little two-year-old Lydianna exactly one month later. They are buried together in the local cemetery and a portrait of them is in the Danvers Historical Society collections. Edwin and Lydia would have one other child, Sarah Mudge (1857-1938), who grew up to be a prominent citizen and one of the founders of the Danvers Historical Society. The formerly simple Greek Revival style cottage was “Victorianized” in the Stick/Eastlake style with the addition of delicate bargeboards, a hood over the new double-door entry with iron balustrade, and side dormers.

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.

Tapley Memorial Hall // 1930

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Years after the Danvers Historical Society acquired the Jeremiah Page House, saving and relocating it to its present location on Page Street, the society began planning for a new facility to house its collections. After a successful fundraising campaign, the society solicited plans from local architect, Lester S. Couch, a partner in the firm, Little & Browne, and member of the historical society, to design the new memorial building. Designed in 1930 and completed a year later, the Colonial Revival style building is constructed of fireproof brick walls with a hipped roof. Two entrances are located on the side elevation facing the Page House, with pedimented surrounds and blind fanlight transoms. The building is notable for the use of slightly recessed arched bays, common in Federal and Federal Revival buildings. The Tapley Memorial Hall is still maintained by the society and can be rented out for functions.

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.