New England History Blog

Deacon Daniel Emerson House // 1768

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One of the oldest extant homes (and one of my favorites) in Hollis, NH is this charming gambrel-roofed Georgian built in 1768. The home was built for Deacon Daniel Emerson Jr., the son of Reverend Daniel Emerson, who was the first minister in Hollis (his home was the last post). Besides serving as the Deacon for the Congregational Church, Daniel Jr. (1746-1820) also was Coroner and High Sheriff of Hillsborough County. He was Captain of the Hollis Company that went to Ticonderoga in July 1776 returning a year later. The home retains the massive central chimney, a common feature in older homes, to radiate heat to the entire home from the central heat source.

Emerson House // 1744

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The oldest extant building in the village center of Hollis, New Hampshire is the Emerson House, which overlooks the town green. The home was constructed in 1744 for Reverend Daniel Emerson, the first settled minister in Hollis. The home stands on land that was part of the 40-acre ministerial parcel set aside when the town was planned that year. Over the next 21 years, Reverend Emerson and his wife had 13 children (seven sons and six daughters) which caused them to expand the home numerous times until his death in 1801. The home remained in the Emerson family for some years until it was sold at some point in the 20th century when the home was modified with the storefront windows. It now houses apartment units.

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.

Commonwealth Trust Company // 1908-c.1974

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Ca. 1910 image courtesy of Boston Public Archives.

Located at the corner of Summer and Devonshire Streets in Downtown Boston, the Commonwealth Trust Company’s two-story marble banking house commanded the corner, despite its short stature. The building, completed in 1908, was constructed with Lee marble and decorated with ornate wrought and cast-iron grilles over windows. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Parker, Thomas & Rice in the Classical mode with large, fluted Corinthian columns and boxed corner pilasters framing the recessed center entrance, Corinthian pilasters ran along the side facade. At the inside, the building was coated with Cararra and Blanco marble with paneled oak offices. At the ground floor, offices and banking stations framed the outer walls, with the safety deposit boxes located on the second floor. The building was demolished by the 1970s and replaced with a one-story minimalist Modern building (I could not figure out why the former building was razed). The new building was demolished after a few decades with a larger building, better fitting the commercial district.

Justin Morrill Homestead // 1851

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One of the most stunning Gothic Revival homes in New England has to be the Justin Morrill Homestead in the tiny town of Strafford, Vermont. The home was designed by and built for Senator Justin Smith Morrill (1810-1898), who was born in town and worked with his mentor Jedediah Harris at the local store. He later expanded and owned numerous stores in the area and diversified, investing in railroads, banks and real estate in the region. He retired in the late 1840s and became a gentleman farmer, building this Gothic Revival home in town. In 1854 Morrill was elected to the Thirty-fourth Congress as a Whig. He was a founder of the Republican Party, and won re-election five times. In 1866, Morrill was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Union Republican, serving until his death in 1898. Morrill is best known for sponsoring the Morrill Act, also known as the Land Grant College Act. This act was signed into law by Abraham Lincoln in 1862, and established federal funding for higher education in every state of the country. Senator Morrill primarily used this house as a summer residence, as he spent much of his time in Washington, DC. The property remained in the Morrill family, until World War II. The house was eventually acquired by preservationists, who sold it to the state in 1969 for use as a Historical Site and museum.

Justin Morrill Barn

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.