New England Blog

Hollis Town Hall // 1886

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Constructed in 1886, the Hollis Town Hall in New Hampshire is a distinctive example of Queen Anne civic architecture showcasing an asymmetrical design and a variety of forms, textures and materials. The building was designed from plans by Manchester-based architect William Butterfield. As originally constructed the building was painted in dark tints to harmonize with the roof which was covered with shingles and painted dark red. In 1902, the clocks were added atop the tower with a clock designed by George M. Stevens of Boston. Sadly, the buildings’ original polychromatic paint scheme which highlighted the architectural details was updated with a solid white color.

Strafford Municipal Building // 1883

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Designed and built by Senator Justin Morrill in 1883, this building was donated to the town of Strafford by Morrill in memory of his mentor Jedidiah Harris. It was given to the town as a public library in part to house the Harris Library, which in turn had been created by a bequest from Harris. This structure remained a library until the Morrill Memorial Library building was completed in 1928 and its collection was joined with Morrill’s. It is currently used as the Town Office building providing space for the Town Clerk/Treasurer and Town Records, and town boards. The white clapboarded building has Victorian detailing with the spindled posts at the porch with a prominent gambrel roof covered in slate. Cute!

Strafford Town House // 1799

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Perched atop a hill at the edge of the town common in Strafford, Vermont, the Strafford Town House epitomizes rural New England charm. The town house was constructed in 1799 by local carpenters as a place to do public business and served for a brief period in the early days as a meeting house for various local congregations. The building is one of the oldest meeting houses in Vermont and was one of the first meeting houses to put the entrance at the tower-end and the pulpit at the other end of the building. The change from a side-entrance orientation reflected a time when New Englanders were clearly deciding to separate their political business from their ecclesiastical affairs.

John Hoyt Perry House // c.1875

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John Hoyt Perry was born in Southport in 1848, and graduated at Yale in 1870. He received his professional education at Columbia Law School and was admitted to the bar in Bridgeport, CT in 1872. He had an active law career in Connecticut, later working as a judge. He served Southport in the House of Representatives throughout much of the end of the 19th century. In 1913 he was elected to the Connecticut Senate and served as the minority leader. He served as counsel for the United States in arbitration proceedings with Chile in 1902, and as counsel for the town of Fairfield. This home in Southport was constructed for him, likely around 1875 after he accepted his position as a head attorney at a major firm nearby. The home can be classified as a blending of Stick style and Queen Anne Victorian design with the asymmetrical form, tower, large porch with projecting porte-cochere, shingle siding, and bargeboards.

Charles Perry House // c.1830

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Charles C. Perry (1795-1870) was a wealthy nineteenth-century shipowner and sea captain and a prominent figure within Southport’s community. After his father’s death in 1814, when Charles was just 25, he inherited a large sum of money from his father’s will and followed his footsteps as a career. Miah Perry’s will stipulated that in order to keep the family together, members were to reside at the family home for five years from his death if neither of the daughters married; “but in case they remain unmarried at the expiration of five years…my estate shall not be divided until eight years from my decease unless one of the said daughters should marry…partition may be immediately thereafter made.” Talk about pressure to get married!

It is unclear if any daughters got married before, (Julia, one daughter died in 1821 at 22 years old). That same year, Charles Perry seemingly got his part of the inheritance and acquired the land upon which this house stands. He was then twenty-six years old and unmarried. He appears to have built it later as a blending of the Federal and Greek Revival styles, perfectly complimenting each other.

Austin Perry House // c.1830

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One of the nicest examples of residential Greek Revival architecture I have ever seen is the Austin Perry House (c.1830) in the Southport area of Fairfield, CT. Austin Perry (1798-1864) was a member of a prominent merchant family, holding businesses in Fredericksburg, Virginia, before returning to Southport to manage a general store. He retired in his forties and resided at this home until his death. His home is a balanced, symmetrical design with massive Corinthian columns surmounted by a carved anthemion motif ornamenting the gable pediment.

Pequot Library // 1894

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The Pequot Library in Southport, Connecticut was founded in 1889 by Virginia Marquand Monroe and her husband Elbert B. Monroe. The library, designed by noted New York City architect Robert H. Robertson, opened to the public in March 1894. The building is Romanesque Revival in style in a granite sandstone construction. There is an expansive roof area topped with red tile and hipped dormers; an arcaded entrance porch with three arched openings serves as the focal point of the front facade. It was Mrs. Monroe’s intention that Pequot be as “free as air to all”, which it remains as to this day.

Ms. Hetty Gookin House // 1874

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Warren Demman Gookin (1810-1874) was born in Haverhill, New Hampshire. He was educated at Haverhill Academy and Dartmouth College, graduating from the latter institution in 1830. In 1835 he went to Cuba where he remained for ten years as a sugar planter. Later, he was engaged in a mercantile business in Oregon, finally settling in Brooklyn, NY and working as a shipping merchant in New York City until his death in 1874. After his death, his widow Hetty moved back to her hometown of Southport, CT and built this large home. Later this was the home of Mrs Gookin’s stepdaughter, Mrs Edwin Waterman.

Mary Pomeroy House // 1868

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Mrs. Mary Pomeroy, the widow of one of Southport’s industrious and wealthy shipping merchants, Benjamin Pomeroy, built this large residence for herself and her daughters, soon after her husband’s death. Mr. Pomeroy was a merchant who also served as a Senator. In 1866 with ailing health, he took a doctor on a private ship to try various remedies in the West Indies, to no avail, he died at 48 years old. Ms. Pomeroy appears to have taken the money her and her husband had saved and built a large mansion to cement her position in town as the most eligible bachelorette in town. While she never remarried, she sure showed the town what good taste looks like! The facade of the Pomeroy house is symmetrical with a projecting three-story central pavilion, all surmounted by a mansard roof with cresting. Rounded dormers with twin round-headed windows pierce the roof’s multicolored slate surface, making this Second Empire house one of the nicest in a town full of historic homes!

Perry House-Trinity Church Rectory // 1832

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I have a thing for temple-front Greek Revival homes, and this is no exception. This marvelous home was built in 1832 for Francis Dimon Perry (1809-1884), who inherited some of his father’s wealth and became President of Southport National Bank in town. He was a devoted member of Trinity Church throughout his life. Upon Mrs. Perry‘s death in 1893, couple left their residence to the Trinity Church to be used as the parish rectory.