federal Architecture

Captain John Clark House // 1802

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The Captain John Clark House in Canterbury, Connecticut, is one of the finest examples of the Federal style of architecture in New England, and has remained in a fine state of preservation since its construction in the early 19th century. The house was built by 1802 for John Clark (1731-1834), who purchased an earlier home on the site from and had it either taken down or enlarged to its present appearance. The mansion is symmetrical with five bays, central entry and twin chimneys projecting through the hipped roof. The central bay is a showstopper with its triangular pediment at the roofline containing a fanlight, Palladian window at the second floor, and main entrance with its own pediment, sidelights, fanlight transom, all framed by two-story columns. The house’s south facade is equally beautiful with its own Palladian window and entrance.

Turnpike House // c.1810

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This house in Canterbury, Connecticut, is known as the Turnpike House and dates to the early 19th century. A great example of a Federal style residence, the symmetrical, five-bay home exhibits pair chimneys, multi-light double-hung windows, and an elaborate center entry with sidelights and fanlight transom. The house was built along the Windham Turnpike (now Connecticut Route 14), which was an early toll road established in 1795. Behind the main block of the house is a squat gambrel-roofed ell, that is believed to be made from an older house that previously stood on this site, perhaps dating as early as 1745. According to tradition, this early house, which was also at one time supposedly used as a jail, was the home of Rev. Dr. James Coggswell when he ran a school for boys in Canterbury. One of his pupils at that school was Benedict Arnold, the infamous turncoat.

White-Lord House // 1811

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The White-Lord House at 31 North Washington Square in Salem, Massachusetts, is one of a row of stately brick, Federal style mansions built for wealthy 19th century merchants overlooking the bucolic Salem Common. This house was built in 1811 for merchant Stephen White by master mason Joshua Upham (1784-1858), adjacent to his brother’s mansion across the street. It was later the home of merchant John W. Rogers from 1831 to 1844 and merchant Thomas P. Pingree from 1844 to 1858 before it was acquired by Nathaniel Lord in 1858 and members of the family continued to occupy the house for the next ninety years. George R. Lord (1817-1891) was a lawyer and assistant Clerk of the Courts. The exterior of the White-Lord House has changed little beyond the switch to the two-over-two sash windows sometime in the latter half of the 19th century.

Derby Summer House // 1793

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The Derby Summer House sits on the Glen Magna Farms property in Danvers, Massachusetts, and is a rare and excellent example of a formal 18th century garden house in the Federal Style. The structure was built in 1793-94 by Samuel Mclntire, the noted craftsman-carpenter of Salem, on the country farm of Elias Hasket Derby in South Danvers. The Derby Farm was sold off by the family, but in 1901, Mrs. Ellen Peabody Endicott, a descendant of the original owners, bought the Derby Summer House and transported it to Glen Magna Farm, their own summer residence. A shopping center now occupies the original location of the Derby Farm. Inside the structure on the first floor, there are two small rooms which are divided by a central hall that extends through the structure. The steps and vestibule at this level are surfaced in white marble. The second floor, where tea was served, was decorated in an Oriental manner. A wood parquet floor, dating from the first decade of this century is still in place. The structure with its carved figures has been studied and replicated by architects and historians for decades, but nothing beats the original.


Farwell Hall – Andover Newton Theological School // 1829

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The Newton Theological Institution, a school originally founded for the Baptist ministry, opened on Institution Hill in Newton Center in 1825. The 40-acre campus started with six buildings, including this one, Farwell Hall, built in 1829. Farwell Hall is the oldest extant building on the campus today and is named after benefactor and early founder of the school, Levi Farwell. The brick building began as a late-Federal-designed building with a classic Federal Style window fenestration and Adamesque brick arches on the first story side elevations, but the formerly Federal style building was modernized in 1871 with the addition of a fourth floor via a mansard roof, and a more recent, unfortunate altered entry with projecting roof. After the Andover Newton Theological School sold their campus, the building has since been home to an assisted care facility.

Samuel Perley House // c.1784

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Built around 1784 for Reverend Samuel Perley, this Federal style home is one of the finest in the town of Gray, Maine. Samuel Perley (1742-1830) was educated at Harvard College and while there, met and befriended John Adams, who would later become the second President of the United States. The two maintained a lifelong friendship. Perley came to Gray in 1784 as a pastor of Gray’s first church. He likely had this house built at the time or purchased an existing house and updated it and the house is said to have Moses Eaton stencilling inside. At one point, Rev. Perley and his wife lived on one side of the house while his son Isaac, his wife, and their twelve children lived on the other.

Gould-Goodnough-Lyman House // 1816

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The largest house in the smallest town (in Middlesex County) of Ashby, Massachusetts, is this towering, three-story Federal period home on South Road. Local history states that the home was originally a two-story Federal style home with shallow hipped roof. The Goodnough’s “modernized” the home by the 1870s, adding a mansard roof and built a stable on the property. Lastly, the third major owner, Jesse P. Lyman, and his wife, Mary Chapman Lyman, had the home “modernized” again, in 1898, but in the Colonial Revival style, harkening back to the house’s original Colonial-inspired roots. Fitchburg-based architect Henry M. Francis converted the old mansard roof to a full third-floor, updated the carriage house, and added side wings to flank the main block of the house (similar to his design at the old Lyman School in town). The house recently sold for over $600,000 in 2020, which may be the best steal ever! This house is a stunner!

Asa C. Everett House // c.1824

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The Asa C. Everett House on Allen Road in Ashby, Massachusetts, was built around the time of the wedding of Asa Cutter Everett, a saddle- and harness-maker, and Rowena Spaulding in 1824. The house was built of brick and in the Federal style with a shallow hipped roof and symmetrical facade, and was “modernized” in the late 19th century. Victorian-era alterations include the entrance porch with turned posts and spindle frieze and two-over-two sash windows. Blending of vastly different architectural styles can be tough to pull off, but this example really looks great! What do you think?

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!

First Parish Church of Ashby // 1809

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Welcome to Ashby, Massachusetts; a rural and historic town that was first settled in 1676 but due to the continued threat of native hostilities, permanent European settlement in the town did not occur until about 1750. The town incorporated in 1767 and was reputedly named for the abundance and quality of white ash trees found in the area by early settlers. Today, the town has just over 3,000 residents. At the center of the town village, the First Parish Church of Ashby stands as a significant Federal-period meetinghouse, and an integral piece of the town’s history. The present building was constructed in 1809, replacing an earlier structure from 1771. Carpenters for the building were Joseph Kendall and Darius Wellington of Ashby, who utilized plans from Asher Benjamin’s American architectural pattern book of 1797. Facing the town common, the church is a two-story gable front building with a three-stage tower including an octagonal open belfry rising from the pedimented front pavilion.