New England Colonial Architecture

General John Thomas House // c.1761

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The General John Thomas House at 156 Main Street in Kingston, Massachusetts, is significant as a pre-Revolution Georgian style residence and for its connections with a notable Patriot. General John Thomas (1724-1776) was born in Marshfield and later studied medicine, completing his studies in 1746 at the age of 22. He practiced medicine until being appointed in March 1746, as assistant surgeon by Governor William Shirley in Samuel Waldo’s regiment. Liking military service, in 1747 he traded his post as surgeon for that of a lieutenant. By the time of the French and Indian War he had risen to colonel in the militia. After the war, he married Hannah Thomas in 1761 and either built or moved into this house in Kingston, where he practiced medicine. In the years leading up to the American Revolution, John Thomas was a Brigadier, and briefly resigned from the ranks, disappointed that while four major generals were named, he was not on the list. Congress was then trying to name no more than one major general from each state, and Artemas Ward was given preference. George Washington implored him to remain, and John Thomas returned to service. The Congress resolved that he would be given precedence over all other brigadiers in the army. On the night of March 4, 1776, he led his division to fortify the Dorchester Heights, overlooking the south harbor at Boston, by using cannon that Henry Knox had brought from Fort Ticonderoga. From that position, he threatened the British fleet and the British were forced to withdraw, evacuating Boston on March 17. Thomas was finally named a major general. Soon after, Thomas was assigned to command in Canada and take charge of the Canadian invasion. He joined the army besieging Quebec and remained there until he died of Smallpox in June 1776, not living long enough to see a free America. The John Thomas House is a lasting and important physical vestige of his legacy.

Richard Trevett House // 1730

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Richard Trevett Jr. (1690-1749) was a wealthy shipwright and sparmaker (a carpenter who finishes and installs spars, masts, and cargo booms) in Marblehead, and part of a wealthy shipowning family. He would build this house on Washington Street (originally named King Street before the Revolution) and reside here with his family. Trevett lived here for just a few years until the death of his father, and he sold the property, which was later purchased by Joseph Pedrick, a wealthy ship owner, who’s son, John Pedrick, built an even larger mansion down the street. By the turn of the 19th century, this house was owned by Captain Samuel Horton, a commander in the Revolution under General John Glover. After the war, Samuel Horton engaged in mercantile pursuits, importing goods from all over the world. He likely brought home pineapples similar to the pineapple motif over the doorway from plantations in the Caribbean and South America as well.

Pedrick Mansion // c.1756

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One of the great Colonial-era houses of Marblehead is this stately residence, the John Pedrick Mansion on Washington Street. The house dates to about 1756 and was built for John Pedrick (1733-1780), a wealthy shipping merchant. According to ‘The History and Traditions of Marblehead’, Pedrick’s “ships sailed to nearly every port in England, Spain, and the West Indies, and his transactions were with some of the largest mercantile houses of Europe. At one time, it is said, he owned twenty-five vessels engaged in the foreign trade.” The Revolutionary War, which proved so disastrous to the merchants of Marblehead, bore with especial severity upon Major Pedrick, as several of his vessels were destroyed by British cruisers in Massachusetts Bay, and many others rotted in port from blocades and engagements. The property was likely modernized after John Pedrick’s death in 1780 with a more Federal form, possibly adding the third floor and shallow hipped roof. The building’s facade is scored to resemble ashlar masonry, giving it a more stately appearance, but the bright blue really diminishes the feature, which should typically be colored a natural stone.

Old Town House, Marblehead // 1727

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By the early 18th century, Marblehead had grown from a small fishing village to one of the most affluent and influential seaports in the colonies. This new wealth and the increasing secularization of government led town officials in 1727 to fund and build a Town House, to replace the Old Meeting House from 1696. The upper level of the building served as a town hall, while the lower level was originally used as a market. The Town House was later the gathering place to protest the Stamp Act and the Boston Port Act, and was a primary location for Sons of Liberty to meet and discuss Revolution. After Independence, the Town House was host to such dignitaries as presidents George Washington, Adams, Jackson and Munroe, Samuel Adams, John Hancock and the Marquis de Lafayette. The building would eventually be replaced as the town hall when the new Abbot Hall was built in 1876. The top floor became the GAR Museum, established after the Civil War as The Grand Army of the Republic veterans organization. The main floor houses meeting and exhibition space. The iconic Revolutionary-era Georgian building has been lovingly maintained and restored for nearly 300 years, a testament to the historic and architectural significance of this handsome structure.

Russell-Goodwin House // c.1750

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Marblehead is one of the oldest towns in America, first settled by colonists in 1629 and incorporated twenty years later. For the following decades, the coastal community grew, and was even one of the ten largest towns and cities in the colonies in 1790! From this history, the town has worked to preserve the unique character and walkable warren of narrow streets, that makes the town feel so charming and a great place to visit. There are dozens of pre-Revolution houses in Marblehead’s downtown area, including this side-hall Georgian house on Franklin Street, with a neighboring “sister house”. The residence dates to about 1750 and was occupied early on by Richard Russell, who according to the house plaque, was a fisherman. Later, in 1850, the house was occupied by John Goodwin Jr., who fought in the Civil War, and ultimately lost his life in the Battle of Roanoke Island, on February 8, 1862, when he was killed when he was struck in the chest by a cannonball. After his death, local Marblehead veterans established the G.A.R. Hall, John Goodwin Jr. Post 82 in his honor. The Russell-Goodwin House remains one of the many charming Colonial-era houses in Marblehead’s walkable village, telling a story of the generations of families who made this coastal community home.

Rev. Ebenezer Parkman House // 1750

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Reverend Ebenezer Parkman (1703-1782) was a graduate of Harvard University and served as the first minister in Westborough, Massachusetts, from 1724 until his death. The town’s first meetinghouse was located on Powder Hill; however, in 1748, the community decided to build a new meetinghouse closer to the town center. In 1750, the town built Reverend Parkman a second parsonage, this large Georgian house, closer to the meetinghouse which would accommodate his growing family. It is said that when built, some members of the church felt the home was too grand and luxurious for the minister and particularly made reference to the numerous windows as glass was an expensive commodity at the time. From his residence and serving as the town’s minister for 58 years, Parkman watched his town grow from an English settlement on the fringe of civilization to a prosperous village in the independent United States. Parkman’s insights into the life of these times are recorded in his daily journal, now housed at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester. It has also been digitized, providing a glimpse into daily life at the time. The house was originally located nearby but relocated in 1867 to its present location on High Street, where it remains in a great state of preservation. 

James Adams Farmhouse // c.1785

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This handsome New England farmhouse is located in rural Canterbury, Connecticut, and showcases the type of farmhouses available to local wealthy residents in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The construction dates to about 1785, just after James Adams, a Lieutenant in the American Revolution, purchased land here. The property remained in the Adams Family until 1859. The structure rests on
a fieldstone foundation and is sheathed with clapboards. The Georgian farmhouse incorporates a five-bay facade with central entry with five-light transom and a large stone central chimney and jettied gable ends on the sides.

John Carter House // c.1765

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One of the many stunning and well-preserved Colonial homes in Canterbury, Connecticut is this residence, the John Carter House on S. Canterbury Road. Records show that the house was built around 1765 for John Carter and his wife, Mary Smith. This house is a good example of the domestic architecture of 18th-century Connecticut and while there have been some changes over time, it continues to exhibit all the major hallmarks of the colonial type, such as a center-chimney plan, clapboard exterior, and five-bay facade. The house originally had a saltbox roof sloping to the rear, but was removed sometime in the 19th or 20th centuries, likely when the projecting Colonial Revival-era porch was added at the entrance. What a spectacular home!

Edward Waldo House // c.1715

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The Edward Waldo House in Scotland, Connecticut, is a vernacular Georgian house with saltbox roof and wings which from its erection about 1715 until 1971 was owned by members of the Waldo family. Edward Waldo (1684-1767) purchased land here along the Shetucket River in 1702 and by 1715, erected this house. The saltbox house which Edward Waldo built was one of the first houses in the town of Scotland and would remain in successive generations of the family for centuries. The house was the birthplace of Samuel Lovett Waldo (1783-1861), a portraitist who was a founder of the National Academy of Design as well as Daniel Waldo, chaplain of Congress, 1856-1858, and was one of seven Revolutionary War veterans who, having survived into the age of photography, were featured in the 1864 book The Last Men of the Revolution. The last Waldo owner, Miss Ruth Waldo died in1975. She insured the preservation of her family homestead by bequeathing the house, its contents, and about 15 acres of land to the Antiquarian & Landmarks Society of Connecticut Inc. and the surrounding acreage to the Connecticut Forest and Park Association, creating an enduring legacy for centuries to come. The house, set amongst a quiet country road, is evocative of early days in Scotland, Connecticut, and is one of the finest-preserved Colonial homes in this part of the state. 

Huntington Homestead // c.1715

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The Huntington Homestead in Scotland, Connecticut, was the birthplace and boyhood home of Samuel Huntington (1731–1796), a Founding Father, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a distinguished statesman during the Revolutionary War and early Republic. The remarkably well-preserved site includes an eighteenth century house on its original foundation surrounded by acres of farmland and is now protected as a museum. The house was built sometime between the transfer of land in 1715 from Deacon Joseph Huntington to his son Nathaniel, and Nathaniel’s marriage in 1723 to Mehetabel Thurston. As originally constructed, the house consisted of a two-story structure with an end chimney on the west end and one large room on each floor. By the time of Nathanielís death in 1767, the house had been doubled in size with the addition of two rooms west of the chimney, giving the house its current five-bay form. The Georgian style Colonial-era home features a symmetrical facade, twelve-over-twelve windows, and a saltbox roof and is one of the finest Colonial-era homes in this part of the state.