historic house blog

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.

Brocklebank-Nelson-Beecher House // c.1661

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The Brocklebank-Nelson-Beecher House is a First Period structure in Georgetown, Massachusetts, believed to have been built in the 1660s. The land on which the house stands was granted in 1661 to Samuel Brocklebank (1628-1676) , a surveyor who, with his widowed mother and brother, left England and were among the first settlers of Rowley in 1639. It was built by Lieut. Samuel Brocklebank who also owned a farm of 72 acres on the site. Lieut. Brocklebank was appointed captain in a militia and was killed with his entire company in Sudbury in 1676 during a raid by Native people during the period of the King Philip’s War. Samuel’s wife remarried and moved to Newbury, and his son, Samuel Jr., resided in the family home which remained in the Brocklebank family until 1754. The house became a tavern by owner Solomon Nelson, who purchased the property in 1765 and made substantial additions and renovations to the house in its current Georgian style. In 1858 the house was bought by Rev Charles Beecher, brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher. An ardent abolitionist, he was the pastor of the town’s Old South Congregational Church. Today, the Brocklebank-Nelson-Beecher House is owned by the Georgetown Historical Society, who maintain and showcase the town’s rich history from this important early residence.  

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.

Moody-Hall House // 1830

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Transitional Federal/Greek Revival style houses are among my favorite. You can see the emergence of Classical architecture blending with American architecture with features of both styles, which work well together. This example can be found on Elm Street in Georgetown, Massachusetts. The dwelling appears to have been built for Dr. George Moody, one of four physicians in Georgetown in 1840, who began his practice in town in 1830. In his first years there, he oversaw patients during Typhus and Dysentery outbreaks and was credited with having determined that a high sulphur content in the local water supply accounted for the increased cases. Dr. Moody died in 1866, and his widow continued to live in the house until her death in 1880, after which it was sold to Mrs. Charlotte Sawyer Hall, the widow of local shoemaker Seth Hall.

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.

Whitman-Fessenden-Coombs House // c.1800

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This important Federal-period house sits in the middle of New Gloucester village in Maine, and dates to the early 19th century with mid-19th century alterations. The original owner was Obediah Whitman, who sold the house soon after to General Samuel Fessenden (1784-1869) lived here while practicing law in New Gloucester. He was an avid abolitionist who served as a congressman and in 1828, he declined the presidency of Dartmouth College. The General’s son, William Pitt Fessenden, resided there from ages three to fourteen. William later became a U.S. Senator and Lincoln’s Secretary of the Treasury. The third notable owner was artist, Delbert Dana “D.D.” Coombs, who used the second floor for his studio for some years. The update from the mid-19th century of the modest bracketed eaves and two-over-one windows showcases how later owners can update a home without diminishing the original design.

Nathaniel C. Allen House // 1793

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The Nathaniel C. Allen House is a two-story Federal style residence located in New Gloucester, Maine. The house was built in 1793 by Shubael Marsh, a local builder (and father of Shubael Jr. (1797–1867), who moved to Texas with Stephen F. Austin) and sold to Nathaniel Coit Allen, an early settler in New Gloucester, who served as a General during the American Revolution. The property was purchased by Col. James Madison Thompson, then owner of the Glen House, an early White Mountains hotel in New Hampshire, who renovated the home by replacing the central chimney with two narrow ones and raised the ceilings and introduced Victorian interior woodwork. A subsequent owner added large Colonial Revival porches on the front and side entrances along with a new entry. The house showcases the changing tastes from Federal style to Victorian back to traditional tastes.

Morrill House // c.1830

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This stunning brick Federal style home sits in the center of Gray Village in Maine. The house dates to the early 19th century and was long-owned by members of the Morrill Family, seemingly first by William C. Morrill and remaining in the family for generations. The residence is a high-style example of the Federal style with recessed elliptical entrance with fanlight transom and sidelights with a Victorian-era front door. The house was likely built by a local mason or housewright who employed the designs of a Federal style plan book for the architectural detailing at the entry.

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.

Wellington-Sears House // c.1810

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One of the many Federal period houses in Ashby Center is this lovely c.1810 residence on Main Street. The house is known as the Wellington House, and was possibly built by Darius Wellington, a carpenter who assisted with building the town’s First Parish Church in 1809. The house exhibited a symmetrical facade with stunning fanlight transom over the main entrance and eight-over-twelve sash windows. In the latter half of the 19th century, the property was owned by Cyrus Sears, a prominent sea captain, who sought a life inland with his family. He would serve in the Civil War, but had the half-decade house “modernized” with new bay windows and an entry porch. He would later move to Baltimore and serve as a port captain and consul to Cuba. In the past few years, the owners have restored the home to its original Federal design, re-emphasizing the stunning fanlight transom and sidelight details.

Sunnyside // 1886

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Photo from recent real estate listing

During the height of the Shingle and Queen Anne styles’ popularity, architect Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White completed plans for one of the earliest Colonial Revival style residences, “Sunnyside” in Newport, Rhode Island. The residence was built in 1886 for “Commodore” William Edgar (1810-1887) and his wife, Eliza Lucille Rhinelander (1832-1916). William was a co-founder of the New York Yacht Club in 1844 and heir to a New York fortune. Eliza was an aunt of Edith Wharton and a grand-daughter of William Rhinelander, co-founder of the Rhinelander Sugar Refinery. The property remained in the Edgar Family as Lucille Rhinelander Edgar (1858-1948), an unmarried daughter of the couple, would live here year-round with servants. The house is built of buff-Roman-brick with a large central block flanked by L-plan wings under a hipped roof punctuated by massive chimneys. Of special note on the facade are the rounded bays, entry portico with Palladian window above, and side porch.

Tudor Lodge // c.1850

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A rambling Gothic Revival style house in the mode of the picturesque Gothic estates in England, can be found tucked away in Newport, Rhode Island. This is Tudor Lodge, a stuccoed summer “cottage” notable for its stucco siding, moulding over all the windows, broad crenellated parapets, and a hip-roof porte-cochère in front of the principal entrance. The house was supposedly originally built as a summer residence for Nicholas Redwood Easton around 1850. After his death, the property was purchased by members of the Gibbs (Gibbes) Family, who owned much of the land in this part of town, giving nearby Gibbs Avenue its name. The property was purchased around 1900 by William Rogers Morgan, a New York City banker, who greatly remodeled and named the estate, Tudor Lodge, giving the house its present appearance. The estate was converted to four condominium units in 1980.

Oakwold Cottage // 1883

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Oakwold, a stunning Queen Anne residence on Old Beach Road in Newport, Rhode Island was supposedly built on speculation and purchased by Augustus Jay (1850-1919). Mr. Jay was born in Washington, D. C., the son of Peter Augustus Jay and Josephine Pearson Jay. Augustus Jay graduated from Harvard College in 1871 and from the Columbia Law School in 1876, and worked as a diplomat. His wife was Emily Astor Kane (1854–1932), a daughter of DeLancey Kane and Louisa Dorothea (née Langdon) Kane. Emily was a descendant of John Jacob Astor. The “cottage” was named Oakwold, and was designed by architect Clarence Sumner Luce, who designed many summer residences in Newport, and specialized in the Queen Anne style. Particularly noteworthy in the design of Oakwold are the brick first floor with entrance within a recessed arched opening and pebble-dashed and half-timbered gable ends.

Dr. Ralph Fogg House // 1893

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Built in 1893, this house in Norwood, Massachusetts, was built for Dr. Ralph Fogg, a leading dentist in the Boston area with offices in Boston, Norwood, and Quincy. Dr. Fogg was dissatisfied with nitrous oxide gas as an anesthetic, as it failed to protect the patient against pain; and, in trying to find some harmless compound to accomplish the desired results, he produced the “Boston Vegetable Vapor,” an anesthetic to compete with nitrous oxide in markets. In 1885, the Boston Vegetable Anesthetic Company was formed for the purpose of placing the vapor in the market, and it was used by leading dentists across the country. With his dental practice growth and success of his new invention, Dr. Fogg and his new wife, Anna Saville, hired architect, Herbert Mosely, to design a stately home for their family. The Queen Anne/Shingle style house features a sophisticated use of stone, clapboard and wood shingle materials. It’s main facade is dominated by a broad gambrel gable with the main entrance set within a rusticated stone arch which is edged with large voussoir blocks.

Sewall-Scripture House // 1832

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Levi Sewall (1805-1880), a native of Maine, built this stunning granite Federal style house in Rockport, Massachusetts in 1832 in preparation for his marriage to Mary Ann Robards. The granite blocks used to build the house were hauled by oxen from Sewall’s own quarry in Pigeon Cove, which is said to have produced stone of excellent quality. Sewall was one of the towns earliest entrepreneurs in the granite business and did quite well, supplying the building material to many of the region’s buildings in the mid 19th century. The property was inherited by Levi and Mary’s son-in-law, Frank Scripture, who took over the family business. Levi Sewall’s descendants occupied the Sewall-Scripture House until 1957, and ever since, it has been home to the Sandy Bay Historical Society and Museum.