Georgian Home

Nelson House // 1797

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This residence sits on the historic Elm Street in Georgetown, Massachusetts, and is one of the best late-Georgian style dwellings in the town. The house was built in 1797 for Nathaniel Nelson (1767-1853), a banker who worked in Newburyport, just years after his marriage to Sally Chaplin. Nathaniel descended from Thomas Nelson (1615-1648), who was among the twenty families who had come to the New World in the winter of 1638 with the Puritan cleric Ezekiel Rogers (1590-1660). With Rogers most of these families settled at Rowley, incorporated in 1639 with Georgetown later setting off from Rowley, creating their own town in 1838. Nathaniel and many of his family worked as tanners, preparing the skins of animals into leather, and had shops in the area. Mr. Nelson was such an esteemed member of society, that when the War of 1812 broke out, he was asked to store money and gold from Newburyport in his basement, away from the coast, hiding it from the British forces. After successive ownership, the residence was purchased in 1936 by Everett A. and Mary A. Spaulding. A Georgetown native, Everett Augustus Spaulding made colonial revival furniture under the corporate name Spaulding Colonial Reproductions. The residence remains in spectacular condition, with its large central chimney, symmetrical façade, portico, and hipped roof punctuated by pedimented dormers.

Rev. Samuel Foxcroft House // 1765

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Built in 1765 for Rev. Samuel Foxcroft (1734-1807), this grand two and a half story house was the first major frame dwelling in New Gloucester, Maine. Its large scale and such fine mid-18th century architectural features as the triangular doorway pediment  and quoins at the corners make this a house befitting  the community’s first minister. Born in Boston in 1735, Foxcroft was the son of the Rev. Thomas Foxcroft, pastor of the First Church of Boston from 1717 to 1769. The younger Foxcroft graduated from Harvard in 1754 and answered the call of the New Gloucester Congregationalists ten years later, a brand new town in the wilderness of Maine. He was ordained in the blockhouse, a defensive structure from attacking native peoples, in January of 1765 and continued his ministry in the town until 1793, having the first purpose-built meetinghouse completed in 1773. The last years of his life were spent in poor health and he died at his home in 1807 at the age of 72.

Preston-King House // 1764

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The Preston-King House of New Ipswich, New Hampshire, is a 2 1/2-story wood frame Georgian house and unique for its asymmetrical six-bay facade. John Preston I (1739-1803) built this house in 1764. Preston was a doctor, a profession followed by his son of the same name. As well as being the town’s leading physician, he was a member of the first Board of Selectmen and a member of the Convention for framing the State Constitution, also holding many local offices. Following his death, the house passed to his youngest daughter Anna, and her husband, Seth King, a manufacturer, in 1808. The house has been restored to its Colonial appearance and makes a statement without the frills and detailing of the Victorian style.

Mixer Tavern // 1710

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Photo from real estate listing.

One of the most historic houses in Ashford, Connecticut was listed for sale! The house at 14 Westford Road dates to 1710, when John Mixer purchased the property which at the time totaled 100 acres, and applied for a license to operate a tavern. John Mixer was born in 1668 in Watertown, Massachusetts and married Abigail Fiske in 1695. Mixer worked as a tanner in Watertown before moving to Connecticut, becoming the first settler of Ashford in 1710. Mixer became Ashford’s first Town Clerk, Treasurer, Tavern Keeper, Select Man, and Deacon. Mixer and his family would eventually move to Suffield, Connecticut, but the old tavern remains in impeccable condition, largely due to its later owners and preservation as an inn and restoration in the 1920s.

Captain Silas Jones House // c.1774

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Brick houses are not too common on Nantucket, so I love to highlight them whenever possible! This gambrel-roofed residence was built by 1774 for Silas Jones, a whaling captain around the time of his marriage to Judith Gardner. As originally built, this house had brick endwalls while the facade and rear walls were constructed of wood. It was not until under the ownership of Silas’ son, Daniel, that the house was “modernized” with its present appearance. Daniel added brick walls to the front and rear walls, added brownstone lintels and sills to the openings, and added twin chimneys, likely replacing a single, central chimney. Due to his materiality and heavy presence, the house looks more like it belongs in Salem or Providence, so seeing it in the coastal town of Nantucket makes my heart sing. Standing out is a good thing!

Benedict House // c.1740

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The Benedict House in Ridgefield, Connecticut is a stunning Colonial-era cottage that was once the home of a cobbler, who had his shop on the property. The Benedict family, headed by James Benedict, Sr., were original proprietor settlers of Ridgefield. This house and shop have been attributed to James’ son James Benedict (1685-1762), who owned the land and was a shoemaker and deacon of the Congregational Church. Ensign Benedict was also a fence viewer, a term new to me. Fence viewers had power to make and enforce rulings regarding escaped or trespassing livestock, the location of fences, and, above all, maintenance of fences. With fences so crucial to keeping livestock where it belonged, loose boards and rotting posts were big concerns. The fence viewer could even compel a property owner to pay for needed maintenance or repair conducted by a neighbor if he or she failed to keep up their fence properly. The property left Benedict family ownership in 1848, and it was later extensively restored by renowned architect Cass Gilbert, who bought the property in 1920. Cass Gilbert also restored a few other Colonial-era houses in town. It was later the home of Robert and Mildred Wohlforth, both writers of note and six-decade residents of Ridgefield.

Captain Caleb Godfrey House // c.1740

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In Newport, Rhode Island, you can find that even the more regular-looking historic buildings often hold an interesting (and sometimes troubling) past. Little information was available on this Georgian-era house, but I did some digging and turned up a lot. Rhode Island and Newport specifically had been a hub of trade going back to its founding by white settlers. Even though it was the smallest of the colonies, the great majority of slave ships leaving British North America came from Rhode Island ports. Historian Christy Clark-Pujara, in her book Dark Work, The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island, indicates that during “the colonial period in total, Rhode Island sent 514 slave ships to the coast of West Africa, while the rest of the colonies sent just 189.” Captain Caleb Godfrey, who owned this home on Franklin Street in Newport, was a sea captain and hired by wealthy merchants to pick up slaves in West Africa and bring them back to the British colonies. In 1754, Samuel and William Vernon of Newport hired Caleb to take their ship, “Hare“, taking captives from Sierra Leone and embarking them from South Carolina. Godfrey left Sierra Leone with 84 slaves aboard, but 16 died on the 10-week voyage or soon after the ship arrived in Charleston, their bodies were dumped at night into the sea. In South Carolina, a prominent slave dealer named Henry Laurens handled the sale of African captives from the Hare, placing an advertisement to attract the attention of local rice planters. Godfrey’s Newport home is a visual reminder on New England’s direct ties to the enslavement of African people and how the colonies benefited financially from this terrible trade.

Elijah Purington Homestead // 1768

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One of the earlier settlers to Weare, New Hampshire was Elijah Purington, who purchased a lot in the center of town in 1768 and built this large farmhouse for his family. Elijah was one of the first Quakers to move to Weare, and the next year, he was elected a selectman in town. The farm remained in the ownership of his descendants through the end of the 19th century. A trotting park was built on a piece of the property covering an earlier pond, which seems to have since been restored back to a pond. After Elijah Purington III died in 1890, the property was purchased by Oliver Dennett Sawyer, who operated it as the Apple Tree Inn until his death in 1921. It has remained a private home ever since.

Bailey Farmhouse // c.1767

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One of the oldest homes in Weare, New Hampshire is this large, Georgian farmhouse apparently constructed around 1767 by Samuel Bailey. Samuel’s father, Ebenezer Bailey, had purchased a property called “Lot 54, Range 1” in Weare, New Hampshire, which he then divided among his sons, Daniel, Samuel and Ebenezer Jr. for their own settlement in about 1767. Samuel received this lot in South Weare, upon which, the twenty-two-year-old and his wife established a farm and a family of at least eight children. Samuel died in 1824 and the farm was inherited by his son, Amos Wood Bailey, who continued operations here. Today, the large five-bay Georgian farmhouse is connected to a massive barn. It is a really spectacular property.

Benjamin Stiles House // 1787

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Built for Revolutionary War veteran and local lawyer Benjamin Stiles, this stunning Georgian mansion is unique for its use of brick in construction, a material not too common for some of Southbury’s earliest homes. Local tradition holds that a French engineer in General Rochambeau’s army provided assistance in designing the building, using the metric system, likely on the march from Newport to Yorktown. Benjamin’s father was one of the original settlers who migrated from present-day Stratford to the un-developed Southbury. The hip-on-hip roof with pedimented dormers is really a stunner, and unique for the town!

Hinman-Peter Parley House // 1777

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Sherman Hinman (1752-1793) was born in present-day Southbury, Connecticut as the fourth and youngest child of Colonel Benjamin Hinman and Mary Stiles Hinman. He attended Yale and later married in 1777, his third cousin, Molly, youngest daughter of Captain Timothy and Emma (Preston) Hinman, of Southbury, and settled as a merchant-farmer in his native town of Southbury. He immediately began work on this large, brick mansion to not only impress his new wife, but all the people in town who had not yet seen such a stately mansion in town. He was said to have lived in “dashing splendor” for a few years but was soon reduced to comparative poverty by his extravagance. He died in 1793. The house is most famous for its association with Samuel G. Goodrich, owner from 1857 to 1860, who authored many popular children’s books and textbooks under the name of Peter Parley. By the turn of the 20th century, the expansive property was occupied by the German Lutheran Home for the Aged (now the Lutheran Home of Southbury) with many additions added to the building.

Killicut House // c.1740

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Thought to be the oldest extant residential building in Nashua, New Hampshire, the Killicut House is an important piece of local history of the early settlement days of the city. The exact date of construction of the Killicut House is not known, with local legend stating that the house was built between 1680 and 1700 with other estimates dating the house slightly later, to 1740. It was known for years as the “1700 House”. Regardless, this is one of only two 18th century houses remaining in Nashua. The first known owner of the house was Thomas Killicut (1723-1784) who resided in present-day Nashua by 1746 when he was chosen to hold the position of field driver for the newly established town of Dunstable, New Hampshire (an extension from Dunstable, Massachusetts). Killicut served as one of “Rogers Rangers” in the French and Indian War. During the early to mid 19th century, the Killicut House apparently passed onto members of the Blodgett family who were apparently related to the Killicuts as up until the 1960s, the house was still reportedly owned by descendants of Thomas Killicut. Later in the 20th century, much of the land was subdivided and single-family homes were built nearby, with the Killicut House now located on the end of an unassuming cul-de-sac. It is a great example of a Georgian-era Cape style house with central chimney.

Woodward Abrahams House // c.1768

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This Georgian-era Colonial home in Marblehead, Massachusetts was built around 1768 by Woodward Abrahams, who was appointed deputy postmaster in Marblehead ten years prior by Benjamin Franklin. Abrahams was one of the seven listed “Tories” mentioned in a town meeting of 1777, which were more loyal to the British crown than the colonies. After the war, he attempted to restore his political favor, which he did over decades, later being renamed a postmaster in 1797. The old Abrahams house was later owned by Thomas Tucker, who ran a dry goods business. In 1881, he converted the first floor to commercial space, giving the house its appearance we see today.

Homan-Devereaux House // 1764

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In 1764, Joseph Homan, a wealthy merchant, built this house on a lot that was formerly a “mowing field” in Marblehead, Massachusetts. The Georgian style home is of a more elaborate design, showcasing Mr. Homan’s wealth at the time. His wealth was not all acquired ethically, however. Joseph Homan was engaged in international trade, and enslaved Africans at his Marblehead home. In the Boston Daily Newsletters in September 1770, Homan posted a notice that Jack, one of his enslaved humans escaped. It read: “At Night, a Negro Man, named Jack, about 6 feet high, near 50 years of age, speaks bad English, and Born in Martinico [Martinique]; had on when he went away, a blue Coat with Mohair Buttons, a blue Jacket with black Glass Buttons, blue Breeches with white metal Buttons, and a red worsted Cap, but may have changed his Cloaths [sic], as he had more at Beverly.-Whoever shall take up said Negro, and deliver him to Mr. Brown, Deputy-Sheriff, in Salem, shall have Two Dollars Reward, and all necessary Charges paid them. All Masters of Vessels, and others, are cautioned against carrying said Negro off, as they would avoid the Penalty of the Law.” Homan would later sell the property to Elbridge Gerry, who served as the fifth vice president of the United States under President James Madison, and who Gerrymandering is named after. Gerry gifted the house to his sister Elizabeth, who married Burrell Devereaux a year later. Burrell was a sea captain that later was a privateer.

Simon Bradstreet House // 1723

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Walking the warren of tight streets and hidden alleys of Marblehead, Massachusetts, you are taken back centuries to a simple time, and of a town that has largely maintained its pre-automobile urban fabric. Many pre-Revolution homes still stand in town and have survived cycles of the coastal town’s prosperity and economic hardship, and the increased pressure of gentrification in more recent years! The Simon Bradstreet House sits right in the village and is a well-preserved Georgian-period home. The house was built in 1723 (earlier reports said in 1738) and it was later owned by Rev. Simon Bradstreet (1709-1771), who arrived to Marblehead to serve as the second minister of the Second Congregational Church a year prior. Reverend Bradstreet was the great-grandson of the last Bay Colony Governor of the same name. Chance Bradstreet, an enslaved African that was a subject of the “within these walls” exhibit at the National Museum of American History was born in this home in 1762. He was later sold to Abraham Dodge of Ipswich by Isaac Story, the third minister of the Second Congregational Church. Stories like this are necessary for us to remember that slavery was a huge part of New England’s economy historically.