Greek Revival cottage

Charles Daniels House // c.1826

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The Charles Daniels House in Chester, Connecticut, is a sophisticated and excellently proportioned and designed example of a single-family residence in the Greek Revival style. Features like the Doric portico, flushboarding and frieze windows are components of a skillful design that has been credited to architect Ithiel Town, but this is unsubstantiated. The home was built around 1826 for Charles Daniels (1799-1838), a gimlet manufacturer, who had his factory nearby. Charles died in 1838, and the property was inherited by his second wife, Abby Gilbert, who also remarried and lived here with her new husband, Clark N. Smith, and they resided here until the early 1900s. Later, the residence was owned by the adjacent mill company, and used temporarily as a storage facility. The location adjacent to the deteriorating factory threatened the significant Daniels House, so in 1978, architect Thomas A. Norton had the house moved a short distance away onto the present site. The house was listed in the National Register of Historic Places and has been preserved, inside and out, by later owners.

White-Dickey Cottage // c.1844

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Located in the Wayland Center village, this c.1844 Greek Revival style cottage stands out not for flourish or scale, but for its excellent design, proportions, and state of preservation. The three-bay facade has a recessed first story set under the pediment extending over the open porch. The pediment is carried by squared, tapered columns with dentils and the facade retains its unique flush-board siding and triple-hung first-story window sash. The house was built by 1844 for Warren Hunt, who operated a small dry goods store near the town common. Not long after he had the house built, Hunt sold the property and store to Luther B. White (1822-1884), who lived here for at least two decades. In 1888, Mrs. Alice Dickey and her husband, Charles F. Dickey, a carpenter, purchased the house and expanded it at the rear.

Sherwin-Goldsmith House // 1844

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The Stone Village of Chester, Vermont, is said to be the largest collection of stone buildings in the state. Built around 1844, the Sherwin-Goldsmith House is one of a few dozen “snecked ashlar” buildings in the region, where rubblestone is laid up with mortar using long stones called “snecks” to tie an outer and an inner wall together. The construction method is said to have been brought to the area by masons from Scotland and Ireland which is known there as ‘Celtic Bond’. Oral tradition state that Scottish masons from Canada introduced the technique to local masons while erecting a mill in nearby Cavendish in 1832. Local Chester resident, Dr. Ptolemy Edson became such a fan of the building that in 1834, he had his home, the first stone building in Chester, built in this method. He then would influence the rest of the North Village of Chester, where many of his neighbors, as well as the church and schoolhouse, built their structures in snecked ashlar. The Sherwin House is one of three near-identical houses built around the same time that are colloquially known as the “Three Sisters” because they were built for members of the same family. The Greek Revival form is toned down in this smaller side-hall house, which playfully uses large blocks of schist and mica which read as quoins at the corners. Simeon Sherwin (1813-1874) was a farmer, postmaster, and justice of the peace in Chester. Later owner, Olivia Goldsmith, wrote her bestseller, First Wives Club when she lived here. 

Gideon M. Lee House // c.1836

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The Stone Village of Chester, Vermont, is said to be the largest collection of stone buildings in the state. Built around 1836, the Gideon Lee House is one of a few dozen “snecked ashlar” buildings in the region, where rubblestone is laid up with mortar using small long stones called “snecks” to tie an outer and an inner wall together. The construction method is said to have been brought to the area by masons from Scotland and Ireland which is known there as ‘Celtic Bond’. Oral tradition state that Scottish masons from Canada introduced the technique to local masons while erecting a mill in nearby Cavendish in 1832. Local Chester resident, Dr. Ptolemy Edson became such a fan of the building that in 1834, he had his home, the first stone building in Chester, built in this method. He then would influence the rest of the North Village of Chester, where many of his neighbors, as well as the church and schoolhouse, built their structures in snecked ashlar. The first residence besides Dr. Edson’s home built this way in the village was this home, built nextdoor for Dr. Edson’s friend, Gideon Merrick Lee (1811-1880). Designed in a more vernacular version of the Federal style with emerging Greek Revival side-hall form, the Lee House features a charming entry with sidelights and a blind fan over the door.

Conway-Trumbull House // 1848

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Built in 1848 for Rev. James Conway of Salem, this stunning Greek Revival home on Winter Street blends architectural integrity with a bold pop of color! James Conway was born in Ballinamore, Ireland and moved to the United States and was ordained as a Catholic priest. He was a missionary with the Penobscot Tribe in Maine, before preaching in Lowell and later in Salem, Massachusetts. When he moved to Salem, he had this house on Winter Street built with flush board siding, paneled side-hall entry, and moulded window surrounds with corner blocks. Conway would later sell the property to Edward Trumbull, a Salem merchant and later to Ebenezer Putnam. It was likely Putnam who added the oversized second-story bay window on the facade of the house.

Bertram-Jewett-Hale House // 1842

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This lovely brick house on Winter Street in Salem was constructed for Capt. John Bertram in 1842-3. John Bertram (1795-1882) as a boy had his first job as a cabin boy and would work his way up to become a commander, ship owner and investor. He was extensively involved in shipping around the world including to Zanzibar, South America, and California and later he invested in railroads and real estate. He retired from actively commanding boats at age thirty-six with a vast fortune which he would become a philanthropist, giving much of it to charitable causes and his home city of Salem. Captain Bertram continued to own this property until 1855, when he moved to his new house on Essex Street, which he later gifted to the City of Salem as its public library. By the time of his death in 1882, he donated funds to the Salem Hospital, Old Men’s Home, Home for Aged Women, and various colleges and scholarships. Bertram sold this Winter Street house to John Jewett in 1855 for $10,000. Jewett began his career as a cabinet maker in Beverly in 1817 and subsequently became a dealer in mahogany, fancy woods, furniture and grain. Jewett died in 1874 and the property was sold by his heirs to Henry Appleton Hale in 1890. Engaged in the hardware business, Hale also served as president of the Salem Gas Light Company and as a vice president of the Salem Five Cents Savings Bank. Mr. Hale also served the country during the Civil War, and was shot in the face at Antietam on September 17, 1862. The bullet knocked out his front teeth and sliced off a piece of his tongue. Despite the severity of his wound, he recovered and returned to the regiment months later, and mustered out in 1865 following another injury. Henry A. Hale died in 1927. The property is significant not only for its owners, but also for its architectural quality and integrity. The transitional Federal-Greek Revival house features a recessed entry with original leaded sidelight and transom windows, brownstone trimmings, and alterations (likely by Hale) from the second half of the 19th century, including the projecting bay and arched window in the gable.

Nathaniel B. Perkins House // c.1836

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Nathaniel B. Perkins (1813-1885) was born in Salem the son of Captain Joseph Perkins (born 1785) and Elizabeth Hunt. Perkins was a wealthy ship owner in Salem and served on the Salem School Committee and was Treasurer of the Essex Marine Railway. He married Susan Breed in 1836 and built this house on Oliver Street in Salem soon-after. The high-style Greek Revival house is notable for its prominent recessed center entry with engaged, fluted Ionic columns and a modillioned entablature. Perkins likely had one of his ship carpenters work on the carvings as they are so unique.

Myron Norton House // 1840

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The Myron Norton House, built in 1840, is located in the central village in Goshen, Connecticut. Built of stone, the house is unique as the only example of a stone house in the village, and the only Greek Revival house that departs from the usual gable-roofed form, having a square plan and hipped roof with monitor. The home was built for Myron Norton (1788-1853) and his wife, Caroline (Marsh) Norton, who outlived her husband by 23 years, living here until her death in 1876. Myron Norton made his fortune patenting and selling pineapple cheese molds, where he pressed the curds from local cows in wooden pineapple-shaped molds to give them the desired shape. It is the house that cheese built!

Lavalette Perrin House // c.1844

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The perfect whimsical blending of the Classical Greek Revival and the intricate details of the Carpenter Gothic styles can be found under one roof in Goshen, Connecticut; this is the Lavalette Perrin House. Built c.1844 for Lavalette Perrin (1816-1889), who graduated from Yale in 1840, and became licensed to preach in 1843. Reverend Perrin was in his late 20s when he accepted the call to become the pastor of Goshen’s Congregational Church in 1843. Upon arriving to town, he had this residence built soon after, blending two differing styles in a blissful composition. Perrin remained in Goshen until he was called to New Britain in 1858, where he remained until his death. Unique architectural features of the home include the flushboard siding, pilaster-and-lintel framed doors and windows (very rare in this form), and wave-like bargeboards. What a special home!

LaFarge Cottage // c.1845

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Even the less ornate and grand summer cottages of Newport can have interesting histories! This c.1845 Greek Revival cottage sits on Sunnyside Place and is best-known as the summer home of nationally significant painter, muralist, and stained-glass master John LaFarge (1835-1910), active in the lively late 19th-early 20th-century Newport art scene. John LaFarge’s wife, Margaret Mason Perry LaFarge (1839-1925), was the granddaughter of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, and was a native of Newport, seemingly providing the connection between her husband and lucrative stained glass commissions for many Newport and New York buildings. LaFarge is arguably best known for his innovative, opalescent stained glass windows, which was later stolen and adapted by Louis Comfort Tiffany. The LaFarge Cottage was possibly moved to this site and renovated, adding the glazed entry.