Greek Revival House

Adams Hall // c.1828

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According to local histories, this significant Greek Revival style property on Elm Street in Georgetown, Massachusetts, was owned by Josiah Adams (1757-1852), a farmer, a Revolutionary War veteran, and a fourth-generation descendant of the immigrant Robert Adams, who arrived here from Devonshire, England by about 1629. In March 1849, the town’s Congregational Society purchased Adams Hall for eight hundred dollars to house the church vestry, which remained in the building for forty-one months until a new building was built for that purpose next door. Later, Adams Hall was owned by Moses Tenney (1808-1903), operator of a prosperous saw mill in Georgetown, and served at one time in the state senate. The structure retains its significant temple-front with four, two-story Doric columns supporting the portico. Also special on this residence is the use of flush-board siding and the oversized first floor windows.

Dillingham House // c.1845

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This perfect Greek Revival cape house sits on Pascal Avenue, the main street that cuts through the center of Rockport, Maine. The house dates to the 1840s or early 1850s and was owned by the Dillingham Family for a few generations. The original owner may have been Josiah Dillingham (1796-1861), a mariner and sea captain. Josiah died in 1861, and the property was inherited by his eldest son, Josiah Winslow Dillingham (1829-1895) who went by Winslow, seemingly to differentiate himself from his father of the same name and same profession. The Dillingham family home is a quintessential Greek Revival cape with central portico with Ionic columns and corner pilasters with full length entablature at the facade. In true Maine fashion, the side elevations are covered in weathered shingle siding.

Gardner House // c.1847

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This perfect Greek Revival style house sits on Pelham Street in Newport, overlooking Touro Park and the iconic Newport Tower/Old Mill. Built around 1847 for Captain Robinson Gardner, the house exhibits flushboard siding, a heavy portico with wrought iron balcony over the door, and entablature with corner pilasters, all hallmarks of the style. The home became known as “White House” and has likely been painted white for much of its history.

Castoff-Swinburne House // c.1840

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This stunning house located in Newport, Rhode Island, was constructed in the Greek Revival style circa 1840 for Henry Castoff (1803‐1879). His house was one of several dwellings built in the Greek Revival style at that time in the area surrounding Touro Park. Henry was a merchant who dealt in goods from the Indies. In 1868, Henry sold this house at 115 Pelham Street to Robert P. Berry, a local dentist and inventor. Dr. Berry’s heirs sold the property in 1890 to William J. Swinburne (1822‐1897) a former soldier, coal merchant, and Mayor of Newport (1855‐1856). After Swinburne’s death in 1897, the home passed by will to his daughter Elizabeth, who never married. Elizabeth resided in the house until her death in 1918. Under the terms of her will, the home was deeded to the Newport Civic League, who established the Swinburne School there, a school for women for the study of household arts and domestic sciences. The school opened in the 1920s. The Swinburne School operated until 2002, when it was dissolved by the Newport Civic League. The contents of the building were sold at public auction and the school records were deeded to the Newport Historical Society. The building itself was purchased by a Brian O’Neill, who restored it to a single‐family dwelling.

Littlefield-Van Zandt House // 1836

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In the late 1830s, Captain Augustus Littlefield (1803-1878) purchased a house lot on Pelham Street in Newport, Rhode Island and commissioned housewright John Ladd to design and build his new residence. Littlefield reportedly asked his Ladd to design an “authentic copy of an Italian Villa” he had seen during a trip in southern Italy. The result is a more traditional Greek Revival, temple-front house with a portico supported by four monumental columns with capitals that combine Corinthian and Egyptian lotus motifs. The minimal Italian Villa detail can be seen in the bracketed cornice and in the pediment. Built around 1836, the house remained in Littlefield’s possession until his death in 1878. The property was purchased by Charles C. Van Zandt, attorney and later the 34th Governor of Rhode Island. Gov. Van Zandt died in 1894 and was interred at Island Cemetery in Newport. The Littlefield-Van Zandt House remains a significant early, high-style Greek Revival house in the state and one with a great state of preservation.

Levi Starbuck House // 1838

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One of the more unique Greek Revival style houses I have yet seen in New England is the Levi Starbuck House on Orange Street on Nantucket. The house was built in 1838 by housewright William M. Andrews who sold the completed property that year to Levi Starbuck, a wealthy sea captain for $5,000. When he bought the house, Levi Starbuck (1769-1849) was 69-years-old. Levi Starbuck is credited by some as inspiration for the character Starbuck in “Moby Dick.” He would spend the last ten years of his life in this opulent new house on Orange Street. Architecturally, the house is clad with flush siding with projecting paneled pilasters with fret patterns on the top and bottom breaking up the bays of the house.

Joseph Cottrell House // 1843

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The Joseph Cottrell House on Spring Street in Newport is a handsome, two-story, Greek Revival style house with flushboard siding and a traditional pilastered recessed center entry. What really stands out about this home is the two-story rounded corner bay which is finished with columned porches (since enclosed) which were likely added in the second half of the 19th century. Cottrell worked as a ship-builder in Newport, likely constructing the house and later addition himself. Developers today would never!

Amos Chase House and Mill // 1836

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The Amos Chase House and Mill are located in Weare, New Hampshire, on the banks of the Piscataquog River. The house is oriented facing the road, while the mill is behind it, on the bank of the river. The mill is the only surviving 19th-century mill building in Weare. The house was built about 1836 by Amos Chase, as was a mill. That mill burned in 1844; the present mill was built by Chase as a replacement a few years later. This mill was the only one in the town to survive the New England Hurricane of 1938, although its waterwheel was washed away. Amos Chase was a tool manufacturer and one of several members of a locally prominent family operating small mills in the town. His son later used the mill in the manufacture of baskets. The large Greek Revival style home has all the hallmarks of the style, from the pediment facing the street, to the pilasters at the entrance and corners.

Elisha T. Loring House // c.1840

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Elisha T. Loring (1804-1889) was born on Cape Cod and began his career in the Chilean tin and copper trades, moving to Boston in 1839. His house at 21 Mill Street in Dorchester’s Harrison Square neighborhood was built in the early 1840s, showcasing his wealth and stature in the community. Based out of this house, Loring made a large fortune in the Lake Superior mines, also known as the Calumet and Hecla mines. By 1862 he was the treasurer to the Pewabic and Franklin Mining Companies, and a decade later is listed as “President, National Dock Company.” Loring’s Dorchester mansion is Greek Revival in style and consists of a three bay by three bay main block and a substantial rear ell. The house’s original clapboards were replaced by wood shingles sometime in the 20th century. The main elevation’s pedimented center pavilion exhibits a small front porch whose Ionic columns support a heavy, cornice-headed entablature. The porch’s roof is set off by an ornate cast iron railing. The side elevation is unusually wide and culminates in broad pedimented attics containing elliptical lunette windows.

Benjamin Downs House // c.1830

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Located a stone’s throw from the Judson Manville House (last post) another uncommon brick Greek Revival style house in South Britain, Connecticut, this house stands out for its outstanding proportions and well-preserved exterior. This residence was built around 1830 for Benjamin Downs on the site of his family’s old property. The simple lines, portico at the entry supported by Ionic columns, and the window in the gable are all typical of the period.

Mitchell Mansion // 1828

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Built in 1828 and used for years as a “house of public entertainment” for Mitchell Simeon Mitchell, this stunning home in Southbury, Connecticut has historically been known as the Mitchell Mansion. The Mansion House displays sophisticated Greek Revival features, including its temple shape, the restrained Grecian doorway, an inset Ionic-columned portico and a cornice with continuous modillions. The quality of the exterior is matched by its interior detailing, with a semicircular staircase and, at one time, a large ballroom. Records found in the house indicate that one of the carpenters was James English, later to become Governor of Connecticut. During the middle of the 19th century the property was owned by noted New York furniture maker Duncan Phyfe.

Oliver Perry House // 1843

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This imposing Greek Revival house is located in Southport and is one of a handful of the stunning Classically designed mansions near the waterfront. The house was built in 1843 for Oliver Perry a Yale Law School graduate who did not work in law, but became a successful merchant and businessman instead. Oliver H. Perry established his fortune as a shipowner and a merchant and was Treasurer and Director of the Southport National Bank. He was active in civic affairs and served as speaker of the house of the Connecticut General Assembly and commissioner to survey and settle the border dispute between Connecticut and New York. His Southport house is a stunning example of the Greek Revival style in the temple form with a two-story projecting pedimented portico supported by four Doric columns.

Whereaway // c.1840

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In a town of 850 residents (2,800 in the summertime), Brooklin, Maine was an absolute treat to explore. The winding roads terminate at abrupt ends where the rocky Maine coast begins and hand-made wooden ships are docked in protected harbors. I stumbled upon this absolutely charming Greek Revival style Cape house with just steps to the ocean. The siting beyond a sweeping field and adjacent to the calm harbor presents the perfect example of what makes Maine so special. The house is a short term rental and named “Whereaway”. If only I was rich, but I can dream right??

Thomas Jefferson Sawyer House // 1840

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Thomas Jefferson Sawyer was born in 1807 in Groton, Connecticut as the tenth of 13 children of William and Prudence Sawyer. It appears that his parents were running out of names by the time they had ten children, so they named number ten after the then President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson Sawyer moved to Noank’s coastal village in 1840 and built this interesting Greek Revival house with an atypical hipped roof. Sawyer was a sea-captain who remained in Noank until his death and he was a very active member of the local Baptist church. The Sawyer House remains as a unique example of the Greek Revival style captains house, which the village is known for.

Moses Latham House // c.1845

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Noank is a charming seaside village within the town of Groton that is centered on a peninsula at the mouth of the Mystic River where it spills out into the Long Island Sound. Historically, the area was known as Nauyang (meaning “point of land”) and was a summer camping ground of the Pequot people, but they were driven out in 1655 following the Pequot War. White settlement was slow here until the mid-19th century, when the shipbuilding and fishing economy took off here. As a result, houses, stores, churches and industries were built, and an entire village was formed. Most extant homes here were constructed starting in the 1840s as the village (and nearby Mystic) saw economic growth from the maritime trades. This house, the Moses Latham House, was constructed for Mr. Latham in about 1845. The house is Greek Revival in style with flush-board siding, a fan light in the gable which reads as a pediment, and a simple portico supported by fluted Doric columns.