house architecture

Michael Richmond House // c.1814

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When the town of Ashford laid out a road across the land of Abner Richmond, he saw it as an opportunity to gift the newly organized plot across the road to his eldest son, Michael and his new wife, Polly as a wedding gift. Michael Richmond (1786-1881) built this Federal style house across the street from his father (see last post), likely employing the same builder, who employed similar design elements for both homes. In early life Michael learned saddle-making and afterward engaged in the manufacture of cloth, also axes. He was also engaged in staging and turnpike building, and in the mercantile business, until he retired at 60 years of age. He was a man of all trades! The house is now home to BOTL Farm, a pasture-based, sustainability-focused livestock farm that raises pigs, lambs, goats, and chickens ethically. Gotta love seeing farming coming back to Connecticut’s “Quiet Corner”!

George and Effie Mead House // 1911

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Prominently sited upon a hill on a dead-end street in West Acton, Massachusetts, this Craftsman Bungalow is a very elaborate and well-preserved example of the style. The house was built in 1911 for George Varnum Mead (1861-1940) and his wife Effie Wright Mead (1860-1926) as their summer home when they weren’t living in Somerville. Mr. Mead was born in West Acton to Varnum Balfour Mead, who operated the A. O. W. Mead Company, a produce marketing business in Acton and Boston. Varnum’s brother built an elaborate Second Empire style mansion in town which was featured on here yesterday. George Mead followed his father’s footsteps and worked in the family business, which was in operation starting in the 1840s. The A. O. W. Mead Company gathered produce from farmers all over West Acton, kept the produce in cold storage facilities erected by the family, and sent it to Boston for sale at Quincy Market until George’s death in 1940. The Craftsman style house has a fieldstone base, low, overhanging flared gable roof, and is sheathed in shingle siding. Characteristic features include the multiple dormers, exposed rafter tails, grouped windows, and the large fieldstone chimney.

Benjamin Bliven House // 1849

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Although Benjamin Bliven built this house, he never owned the property, but the name lives on! This house on Angell Street in Providence was originally constructed in 1849 in the Greek Revival style, popular at the time. Bliven, a musician, rented the property to tenants until the deed was transferred to Abby W. Watson, wife of Robert W. Watson (owner of the property next door and featured on this account previously). The first owner-occupants were Grace A. and Eugene H. Greene, who bought the property in 1898. The house was completely remodeled in the early decades of the 20th century with Regency/Colonial Revival detailing. Changes including the former roof with its gable-end facing the street boxed off, a new modillion cornice with parapet above; recessed attic story with balustrade; small wing to the east. The stucco siding and Federal entry is icing on the cake!

Harrishof Houses // 1899 & 1900

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I think I found it… My favorite street in Roxbury. Harrishof Street is a surviving streetscape that shows the beauty and potential of the Washington Park district of Roxbury, a surviving span of houses that dodged the wrecking ball during a period of Urban Renewal. This section of the street runs a stone’s throw from the ruins of the 1857 Horatio Harris Villa (featured previously) and was laid out by Horatio’s heirs who developed the former sprawling estate into multi-family housing, to cash in on suburbanization caused at the turn of the 20th century thanks to electric trolley lines in the neighborhood. The development is credited to Alexander Colin Chisholm (1868-1941), a Canadian-born architect and developer who grew up in Roxbury. He specialized in small residential enclaves of similar houses, including these houses on Harrishof Street, and later on Elm Hill Park. The two-family houses blend Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles in such a fun way that pushes the boundaries of academic architecture. The houses on the street are all slightly different and have had varied alterations over time, but this is a great candidate for a historic district!

Isaac Cary Estate // 1850

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Isaac Harris Cary was born in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts on November 3, 1803, the seventh child of Jonathan and Mary Cary. In 1824, Isaac and his brother William formed a partnership and ran a fancy goods imports business, Isaac H. Cary & Co. on Washington Street in Boston. The brothers opened a store in New York and William moved there full-time. In 1831, Isaac married Phebe P. Pratt of Roxbury and they would have three children, two of them living to adulthood. After doing business in New York City and later in New Orleans, Isaac and his family settled in the Jamaica Plain section of Boston, purchasing large land holdings and developing real estate. One of the finest lots he owned was developed for his country estate in 1850, an Italianate/Second Empire-style mansion perched atop an outcropping of Roxbury puddingstone. The large home with a rear three-story tower remained in the Cary family under his single daughter Susanna’s ownership until her death in 1913.

Oliver Johnson House // 1905

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Prairie style architecture is not nearly as common in New England as it is in the Mid-western United States. The style was almost always seen in early 20th century residential designs and is characterized by horizontality, low slope roofs, overhanging eaves, and open interior floor plans. This New England vernacular version of the Prairie style employs some Arts and Crafts influence with Tuscan columned porch and wood frame construction, rather than the more bulky and bold use of brick and stone. This residence sits on a busy state route in the sleepy town of Franklin, Connecticut. This house appears to have been built for Oliver Johnson who was about seventy by the time the house was built. Do you know of any other Prairie Style houses in New England?

Folger House // 1807

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There is so much to love about this house! The lot here was purchased by Paul Macy and Gideon Folger in 1807, and they had this house built on the site that year. Paul Macy and, Gideon Folger were two major shareholders in the ill fated whaling schooner “Essex”. In 1820, while at sea in the southern Pacific Ocean under the command of Captain George Pollard Jr., the ship was attacked and sunk by a sperm whale. Thousands of miles from the coast of South America with little food and water, the 20-man crew was forced to make for land in the ship’s surviving whaleboats. The men suffered severe dehydration, starvation, and exposure on the open ocean, and the survivors eventually resorted to eating the bodies of the crewmen who had died. When that proved insufficient, members of the crew drew lots to determine whom they would sacrifice so that the others could live. Seven crew members were cannibalized before the last of the eight survivors were rescued, more than three months after the sinking of the Essex. This ordeal was inspired Herman Melville to write his famous 1851 novel Moby-Dick. The Folger House was owned for some time by Walter Folger, a lawyer who served in the state senate.

Hodge-Weeks House // c.1790

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One of the oldest extant houses in Dorset, Vermont, this gorgeous Federal Cape house adds so much charm to the village. The house is possibly the homestead of James Abel Hodge (1756-1826) who settled in Dorset from Connecticut after serving in the Revolutionary War. Hodge settled in the town when it was but wilderness, opening up a store in the village and helping the infant township grow into a thriving marble manufactory. This house was later owned by stonecutter I. W. Dunton and after, by “Grandma” Annette Weeks (1841-1925). Like many Cape houses, it probably evolved, adding wings to the right and left as the family inside grew.

Gilbert Sykes House // c.1850

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This stunning Greek Revival house in Dorset Village was built around 1850 and was long the home of Gilbert Mortier Sykes (1834-1920). Gilbert Sykes operated a general store in Dorset and held various public offices in town and later in the Vermont House of Representatives and Senate. The house has fully embellished entrance with paneled pilasters carrying an entablature and an amazing triangular window with diamond panes in the gable.

The River House // c.1820

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Sitting on the banks of Utley Brook, which meanders through the Clarksville village in Landgrove, Vermont, you will find this gorgeous Cape home in a perfect yellow color (seemingly to blend in with the turning leaves every Fall). The home dates to the early 19th century, possibly earlier, and was owned by the Harlow Family, who operated a saw mill across the street. The house was listed for sale in 2019 and is absolutely stunning inside and out!