Massachusetts History

Peabody Institute Library of Danvers // 1892

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In 1856, George Peabody, an American banker and philanthropist, donated funds for a library for Danvers, Massachusetts. The original library was housed in the Town Hall until land was acquired on land that is today known as Peabody Park. In 1866, Peabody deeded the town additional funds for a purpose-built library building, similar to that of Peabody, Massachusetts (which separated from Danvers in 1855). A Gothic style library was built on this site from plans by architect Gridley J. F. Bryant with the purpose “for the promotion of knowledge and morality in the Town of Danvers.” On July 2, 1890, a massive fire destroyed the Danvers library, but many of the collections and volumes were saved by townspeople. Through insurance funds and additional money by trustees, it was decided to rebuild the library on the same site, retaining the architectural firm of Little & Browne, (whose chief draftsman, Lester S. Couch, was a Danvers resident) to design the new building. The present Georgian/Classical Revival structure was completed in 1892 and is one of the finest library buildings in New England.  

Colby Hall – Andover Newton Theological School // 1866

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Colby Hall sits perched atop a hill overlooking Newton Centre, Newton, and is located in the Andover Newton Theological School campus. The building was constructed in 1886 for the Newton Theological Institution, which was founded on this site in 1825, and used for the a Baptist seminary, educating young students in theology. By the 1860s, the school had outgrown its space and following a donation from benefactor,  Gardner Colby (1810–1879), who was treasurer of the school (and was also the benefactor and namesake of Colby College in Maine) plans were drawn up for the new lecture spaces and chapel building. The unique building was designed by Alexander Rice Esty, a prominent architect at the time, and it blends Second Empire and Romanesque Revival styles under one roof. The three-story structure is of a light buff, rough cut stone with sandstone trim and features an imposing four-story tower at the eastern end. In November 2015, the school announced that it would sell its campus and become part of Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut. The Newton campus was purchased by the Windsor Park School with Colby Hall now occupied by the Boston Psychoanalytic Society & Institute.

Chester-Rowley House // 1897

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This unique brick house is located on Devon Road in Newton Centre, and was built in 1897 for Arthur Herbert Chester and Elizabeth S. (Rich) Chester. Arthur H. Chester (1868-1898) worked in real estate, largely in the office of J. Montgomery Sears. He acquired a large house lot in Newton Centre, and had this unique Jacobean Revival residence built for his young family. Sadly, within a year of its completion, Arthur died of Malarial Fever at the age of just 30 years old in 1898. Elizabeth, his widow, would retain the house for a decade longer before it sold to Henry Esmond Rowley and his wife, Josephine. While it looks like a brick house, this residence is actually wood-frame with a brick veneer, a cost-saving measure to still give a stately appearance. The house is notable for its twin rounded gable parapets at the façade and lack of ornate trimmings. The house was covered in white paint for years, but the owners recently removed all the paint from the brick.

Georgetown Engine House No.5 // c.1860

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Following a devastating fire in Georgetown in 1874, local residents of the town petitioned at a town meeting to purchase a fire engine and a lot to erect a new engine house to prevent such a loss again. Within a year, voters approved not only the construction of a new engine house on Middle Street, near the commercial center of town, but also to move this charming single-engine firehouse at to a site to “the south part the town”. This structure was deemed inadequate for the dense commercial village and instead of demolishing it, town voters decided it could be relocated to another area and put to use. A volunteer company was formed for the new engine house and the small structure remained as a firehouse until the early 20th century when modern fire apparatus would no longer fit in the building. The building was sold by the town and has remained in private ownership since the 1920s, and its use is unknown to me, but the owners are doing a great job maintaining this significant structure.

Spofford-Root House // c.1830

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The Spofford Family was one of the earliest to settle in present-day Georgetown, with the earliest enclave of homes built along Andover Road in the western part of town. A few generations later, subsequent family members would built in the town center, taking advantage of the growing commercial and business community. This Federal period home (with later alterations) was built around 1830 for Greenleaf Spofford (1801-1887) the same year as his marriage to Emily Willmarth. The couple would move out of town and sold the home to Dr. Richmond Barbour Root (1846-1930),  the second of a highly respected, three generation family to practice medicine in Georgetown. The overlay of machine-sawn Stick Style decorative porch, bracketed cornice and bay windows were likely added by Root sometime after the Civil War. Unlike most owners of Federal and Greek Revival-style dwellings, Dr. Root may have held a valid professional interest in appearing as up-to-date as possible with a “modernized” home that also served as the site of his office and consulting rooms.

Eleazar Spofford House // 1765

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One of the many pre-Revolutionary homes in Georgetown, Massachusetts, the Spofford House is located on Andover Road, an important route which was occupied by many residences of the Spofford Family. In 1667,  John Spofford and his family became the first permanent (European) residents in what would become Georgetown. Generations later his ancestor, Eleazar Spofford (1739-1828) would build this home in 1765 to be occupied by his new wife married that year, Mary Flint, and their new family. The Georgian farmhouse has been significantly altered since its original date of construction, but retains its general form and character even with later 19th and 20th century additions, porches, and windows. The Spofford’s had six children in this home and would later move to Jaffrey, New Hampshire after the Revolution, but returned and settled in nearby Groveland. Later generations of the Spofford’s would live-in and modify the home until it finally sold out of the family in the 20th century.

Georgetown Brick Schoolhouse No. 4 // 1854

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Constructed in 1854 for intermediate and high school classes at a time when one-room schoolhouses were still the rule in Georgetown, this well-preserved brick building is a reminder as to how far education and schooling has come. As nearby one-room schools consolidated and after the new Central School Building (now Georgetown Town Hall) was built in 1905, this Greek Revival school building was converted to town offices. The town was still fairly small, so the offices only occupied the ground floor, and the town rented the upper floor to the All Saints Episcopal Church, who purchased the building in 1917 and occupied it for nearly 50 years. They likely added the Craftsman style entry porch. The church was deconsecrated in 1966, and the building sold in 1970 to the Noack Organ Manufacturing Company, who added an assembly room at the rear.

Old Ashby Academy – Ashby Grange Hall // 1820

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In 1819, less than a decade after the First Parish Church in Ashby, Massachusetts was built, a group of parishioners split to form their own congregation, erecting this Federal style building as its new house of worship a year later. The congregation grew and eventually would build a new church, the Ashby Congregational Church, in 1835. The building was soon after, sold to a group of citizens interested in starting an academy. In 1836 they opened Ashby Academy, which offered education beyond the eighth grade for those who could afford it. Ashby Academy closed in 1860 and the Town of Ashby purchased the building in 1864 for a high school and town offices, a use that remained until a new school was built in 1902. Since the 1970s, the building has been occupied as a local grange hall, and maintained by a local group, the Friends of the Ashby Grange Hall. The building is a significant, transitional Federal/Greek Revival style building in town with its pediment and elliptical windows.

Wyman Tavern // c.1780

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This large Colonial house sits on the Ashby town common adjacent to the town’s meetinghouse. The structure was built by Abijah Wyman, a Captain in the American Revolution, in about 1780 as a family home. In 1803 a turnpike was established and was well travelled by heavy wagons and stagecoaches travelling between Boston, NH, and VT. Taking advantage of the location, Abijah’s son John expanded the building and began operating a tavern from the house. It would become a drinking establishment, post office, and inn during the 19th century. Later owners modified and expanded the building further, adding a porch and connecting the tavern to the barn. The building is now occupied by commercial uses including the local post office!

Asa Kendall House // c.1790

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The Asa Kendall House is a significant Federal period house from the late 18th century on Richardson Road in Ashby, Massachusetts. The house here is actually believed to be the second built on this location, the first being the John Fitch House and Garrison. John Fitch was one of the earliest settlers in present-day Ashby, which in the mid-1700s, was sparsely developed and threats of attack by Native peoples limited development for decades. Due to raising tensions in the years leading up to the French and Indian War, Fitch petitioned the government for a garrison manned by three soldiers, which was approved. In 1745, the garrison was attacked and Fitch with his family, were kidnapped by Native Americans, held hostage for six months and brought up to Canada. The homestead and garrison were burned. He and his family were ransomed and would later return settling elsewhere in town. The former location of the garrison was purchased by Asa Kendall and this house was built around 1790 for him. The brick house with sloping wings was extensively documented as part of the Historic American Building Survey in 1936 and has been preserved by later owners ever-since!