One of the finest homes in Chester, Connecticut, can be found on Liberty Street, a short distance to the village green. The Federal style house dates to about 1787 and was built by Gideon Leet, a Revolutionary War veteran and joiner as his own residence. After Gideon’s death, the property was purchased by Dr. Richard Ely (1765-1816), who may have expanded the residence, and worked locally as a town doctor. The property remained in the Ely familyfor generations and minimal changes have occured to the exterior as a result of this. The modillon cornice, corner quoins, and fanlight transom sheltered under a columned portico add to the charm of this great house.
In around 1835, this stately Greek Revival style residence was built on Kirtland Street in the town of Deep River, Connecticut. With a symmetrical five-bay facade dominated by a classic Greek doorway with Doric pilasters supporting a broad entablature with smaller window above, the house is evocative of many residences built in New England in the 1830s and 40s by well-to-do merchants and industrialists. This house was seemingly built for Captain John Nelson Saunders (1815-1899) a year or so prior to his marriage to Ann Peters (1815-1904) in 1836. Captain Saunders was listed in the census as a ship master and sailor who likely utilized his property’s access to the Connecticut River just a short walk away. The Saunders House and its lovely stone retaining wall are preserved and tell the story of the town of Deep River’s maritime industry.
Built around 1865, this stately residence in Wayland, Massachusetts, was originally owned by sea captain, Edward Pousland who came to Wayland with his family around 1859. Interestingly, Mr. Pousland continued working as a sea captain, travelling to Salem and Beverly, where he would be at sea for months at a time. Likely due to his profession, the house features a ‘widow’s walk’, a common feature of houses by the sea where folklore holds that the wives of ships’ captains looked out for the return of their husbands. Edward, his wife Hannah W. (Langmaid) Pousland lived in this house at least until Edward’s death. After successive ownership, the property was purchased by Jonathan Maynard Parmenter (1831-1921), who gifted the house to the First Parish Church across the street, for use as a parsonage a use that continued until 1984 when the church sold the house back into private ownership. The house, designed in the Italianate style, was “modernized” in the early 20th century with Colonial Revival alterations, which added the portico and likely removed the brackets at the eaves.
The Edward Stanwood House at 76 High Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, is one of the finest and exuberant examples of the English Victorian Queen Anne style, notable for its varied wall textures and materials, unique form, and applied ornament. The house was built in 1879-1880 for Edward Stanwood, who was for many years the editor of the Boston Daily Advertiser, and a children’s magazine, The Youth’s Companion. The ornate residence was designed by Clarence Sumner Luce, with interiors by Thomas Dewing. The Stanwood House features a well-preserved exterior and period-appropriate paint scheme, highlighting the bas-relief sunflower ornament and gargoyles. Of particular note is the use of hung tile siding, overlaid to give the appearance of fish scales and the roof cresting.
One of the finest and refined examples of the Shingle style in Boston can be found on Alban Street in the Ashmont Hill section of Dorchester, a lovely, walkable neighborhood where you can find timeless examples of just about any Victorian-era architectural style. Built for Charles F. Dillaway, a banker in Boston, this home was designed by local architect, Edwin J. Lewis, architect for many houses in the Ashmont area. Lewis’s designs are distinguished by their crisp geometry, often with horizontal lines emphasized and small-paned windows. The house has been slightly modernized by later owners who added new siding within the inset porch and a more moody color scheme.
The Sibley House is a historic house museum as well as the headquarters of the Westborough Historical Society. Located on Parkman Street in the center of Westborough, Massachusetts, the transitional Greek Revival/Italianate style house was built in 1844, by William Sibley, who was a blacksmith and wheelwright. Soon after the house was built, William married Jane Caroline Gibson, and the couple raised five children here. William joined Westborough’s Company K, 13th Massachusetts Regiment during the Civil War and was wounded at Antietam. After the war, William returned home and he and his brother Frank began to manufacture sleighs. At one point, they produced as many as 300 a year! The Sibley House was purchased by the Westborough Historical Society in 1990, nearly 100 years after the society was established in 1889. The house is open to visitors and provides a glimpse into daily life for Westborough citizens at the time.
This house across from the Town Green in Canterbury, Connecticut, is believed to have been built by David Nevins, Sr. (1729-1758), a merchant who settled in Canterbury from Nova Scotia, Canada. Nevins tragically died in 1758 when overseeing the reconstruction of a bridge spanning the nearby Quinebaug River. It is said that while standing on a cross-beam, giving directions to the workmen, David Nevins lost his balance and fell into the river and was swept away and drowned. The property remained in the Nevins Family until 1842, upon which, it served as a parsonage for the Congregational Church, just across the street. The clapboard exterior, small-pane sash, center-chimney plan, and five-bay facade of this house give it architectural significance as a representative example of 18th-century Connecticut architecture. The stately Georgian doorway with swan’s neck pediment was installed by a local house restorer based upon physical evidence uncovered during the house’s restoration (and removal of Victorian-era porch) and while may be conjectural, it enhances the already beautiful old home.
The Captain John Felt House on Federal Street in Salem, Massachusetts, is a surviving Georgian residence with ties to the American Revolution. In May 1757, John Felt purchased a lot on present-day Federal Street from Benjamin Lynde for 52 pounds, and began building his family home here. John Felt, a Salem native, worked as a “shoreman,” but was primarily an owner of vessels involved in the coasting trade, also owning a large warehouse to store the goods from the West Indies brought in by his ships. Felt’s title of “Captain” came from his involvement in the Essex county militia. Captain Felt was a key figure in Leslie’s Retreat, also called the Salem Gunpowder Raid, which took place on February 26, 1775, in Salem. British Colonel Alexander Leslie led a raid to seize suspected cannons from a makeshift Colonial armory in Salem. Instead of finding artillery, Leslie encountered an inflamed citizenry and militia members ready to stop his search. These colonists flooded Salem’s streets, preventing Leslie’s passage and forcing him to negotiate. Ultimately, the Salemites convinced the British Regulars to stand down and return to Boston. No shots were fired, and no one was seriously injured—but tensions were high and a skirmish was evident until Captain Felt stated, “If you do fire, you will all be dead men.” Had a soldier or a colonist gone rogue and fired their weapon, the American Revolution might have begun in Salem, and not Concord just weeks later. After the Revolution, Captain Felt sold his house and moved to present-day Danvers. After centuries of successive ownership by merchants, today, the Felt House is used (at least in part) as professional law offices.
In 1843, Elias Gates (1801-1886) a young farmer, purchased land from the family of his wife, Mary A. Stedman, and had this handsome brick, Greek Revival style house built. The family would reside here less than ten years, and relocate to Albany, where Elias worked as a bookseller. The house was purchased numerous times throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and operated as a farmhouse until much of the land was sold and subdivided for new housing. The Gates House is a great example of the Greek Revival style with a side hall plan, recessed entry with original sidelights and transom, and bold facade with brick pilasters dividing the bays with brick entablature and gable end facing the street.
This fancy Queen Anne Victorian residence can be found in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, and is one of the most unique houses in the industrial city. This property was built and occupied by David B. Griggs, a builder in Chicopee under the firm D. B. Griggs & Sons. The firm was very busy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as Chicopee saw rapid industrial prosperity followed by a population boom, growing in population from over 9,000 residents in 1870 to 36,000 in 1920. Builders like David Griggs were able to grow to upper-middle class and buy property on desirable house lots and build large homes for their family, as was the case here. David Griggs died in 1896, five years after his home was built, and the property was inherited by his son, Millard Griggs. While the residence is covered in vinyl siding (original siding and trim is likely underneath the present siding), the house retains much of its original fabric including the brackets, delicate open friezes at the porches, and four-story tower.
Buildings of New England 