Massachusetts

The Billingsgate Cottage // 1892

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In 1892, this large summer “cottage” was built in the Land’s End section on the coast of Rockport, Massachusetts. The large summer residence was built for the Thatcher sisters of Roxbury and was named “The Billingsgate” after their mother’s maiden name, Billings. Caroline Billings Thatcher would summer here with upwards of her four other sisters, Lillian, Margaret, Mary, and Elizabeth, to escape from the city. The large summer cottage features a rubblestone first floor with stone columns supporting the shingled floor above. A large gambrel roof and dormers punctuate the façade and showcase the simplicity and elegance of the Shingle style.

Turk’s Head Inn // 1890-1970

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The Turk’s Head Inn was once Rockport’s grandest getaway. For those uninterested in building their own summer cottage to spend the along the coast of Massachusetts, luxury summer resorts provided summer rentals for those escaping the hot and polluted cities in favor of cool ocean breezes. Once situated in the  Land’s End section of Rockport, the Turk’s Head Inn, had sweeping views of the coast and islands in the distance. The initial portion was built from 1889 to 1890 by builder J. M. Wetherill of Rockport based on plans by architect H. M. Stephenson of Boston. It was expanded and became this rambling, E-shaped Colonial Revival structure with a seaboard frontage of two hundred feet and wraparound verandas over three hundred feet in length. Over the years, the Turk’s Head Inn suffered a number of fires, and its central and southeast wings were rebuilt, the latter in 1905 by then owner C.B. Martin. With a peak capacity of 200, the hotel, uncharacteristic of the regional hospitality industry, remained in operation for eighty years before it was closed down, partially destroyed by fire, and the remains removed in 1970.

Haskins Cottage // c.1910

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Another great turn-of-the-century summer cottage in Rockport’s Headlands neighborhood is this c.1910 Craftsman house on Norwood Street. The listed early owner was L. S. Haskins who likely utilized the house as a summer residence. Architecturally, the cottage follows the Craftsman form with a low-sloped roof with broad eaves, shed dormer, exposed rafters, and rubblestone foundation and columns of stones taken from the site and nearby neighborhood.  

Windswept Cottage // 1909

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The coastal towns of Gloucester, Manchester, and Beverly on the North Shore of Massachusetts often are known for their historic summer “cottages” but great examples can be found right here in Rockport! This is “Windswept”, the W. W. Blunt cottage, located in the Headlands section of town, just south of the harbor. Walton W. Blunt worked as the Treasurer and General Manager of the Boston Journal newspaper and resided in Boston, later purchasing multiple adjoining house lots in Rockport for a summer residence. The two-and-a-half story house was designed by a Rutherford Smith, who sought to utilize fieldstone found nearby for the foundation and chimneys and shingle siding above. Detailed descriptions of the new house were featured in a local newspaper in 1909 and mentioned tennis courts on the grounds, an apartment for servants, and a billiard room in the third floor. It is not clear when the house got its name, “Windswept”, but the name is just too fitting!

Commercial Cable Company Relay House // 1884

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This shingled house in Rockport may look like an ordinary 1880s residence, but it was actually built as an important piece of infrastructure! This is the Commercial Cable Company’s Relay House, built in 1884 to serve as a terminus to a transatlantic cable providing communication across the Atlantic Ocean. Up until 1884, a French company, the Atlantic Telegraph Company, was the sole provider of transatlantic telegraph cables. James Gordon Bennett, editor of the New York Herald, was dissatisfied was the 50 cents per word he had to pay for transatlantic telegraphs. Seeking to break ATC’s monopoly, he convinced millionaire John W. Mackay to create the Commercial Cable Company. That company put down two cables from Ireland to Nova Scotia with two other lines to the United States, one to Rockaway Beach, Long Island, and the other to Rockport. This building housed offices on the first floor and a billiards room for employees on the second floor with machine shop in the basement to service equipment. Cable operations continued from this building until 1935 when newer international communications made cable lines obsolete. The Relay House was converted to residential use, and while it has been altered, it still maintains its significance architecturally and historically.

George’s Island – Fort Warren // 1847

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Located seven miles by boat from downtown Boston, Georges Island is a must-visit location for history-buffs and those looking to see the city from a new vantage point! The island in its early days was used for agriculture for 200 years until 1825, when the U.S. government acquired it for coastal defense. Fort Warren was first-dedicated in 1847 and is named for Revolutionary War hero Dr. Joseph Warren, who sent Paul Revere on his famous ride, and was later killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Fort Warren is a pentagonal bastion fort, made of granite, and was constructed from 1833 to 1861, overseen by Col. Sylvanus Thayer, and completed shortly after the beginning of the American Civil War. Fort Warren defended the harbor in Boston, Massachusetts, off-and-on from 1861 through the end of World War II. It’s highest use was during the Civil War, where it served as a training facility and as a prison for Confederate officers and government officials. Unused after WWII, Fort Warren was acquired by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the Federal government and is today maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation as the centerpiece of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.

Have you been to Georges Island?

James Roope House // 1916

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The only historic brick residence located in the charming Salem Willows neighborhood of Salem, Massachusetts is this stately Colonial Revival house at the corner of Bay View and Juniper avenues. The brick dwelling was constructed in 1916 for James Roope, President and Treasurer of the Salem Lumber Company. Designed by Boston architect, Gordon Robb, it is two stories high, with a shallow hipped roof. The central entry has leaded sidelights and a pedimented porch with trellises at the sides.

Streeter Cottage // 1882

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In 1881, Gilbert Streeter and his wife Rebecca purchased a small house lot in the Salem Willows for a summer cottage for them to retreat across town to during the warmer months. Gilbert Streeter was an amateur historian, businessman, publisher of the Salem Observer and was able to afford a second residence in his hometown. The Streeter cottage was built by 1882 and stands out not only for its excellent state of preservation, but for its unique architecture. The cross-gabled form cottage is covered in board-and-batten siding with bargeboards lining the eaves.

Joseph P. Allen Cottage // 1877

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One of the most picturesque and charming summer cottages (now year-round residences) in the Salem Willows neighborhood in Salem, Massachusetts is this Victorian on Bay View Avenue. The cottage was built around 1877 for Joseph Pray Allen (1822-1897) who was a police officer who likely climbed the ranks in the force to afford a second home in the city. The 1 1/2-story cottage has decorative bargeboards at the eaves and stick bracket at the gable. Perfection!

Patrick Dempsey Cottage // c.1875

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This charming mini-mansard summer cottage is located in the coastal neighborhood of Salem Willows, in Salem, Massachusetts. The neighborhood developed in the 1870s-1900s as a summer colony for middle-income families who wanted a second home away from the hustle-and-bustle of urban living in favor of ocean breezes. The cottage likely dates to the mid-1870s as one of the earliest summer homes in the neighborhood, and historic maps show it was owned by a P. Dempsey. It appears this is Patrick Dempsey (1821-1902), an Irish immigrant who settled in Lowell, Massachusetts, making it big as a liquor dealer and saloon-keeper. The Second Empire style cottage has a partially enclosed porch, but retains much of its original character and is located right on the water with sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean.