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Newell-Loring House, 238 Main St., West Newbury (c. 1746)

Sometime in the mid-18th century, Moses Newell Senior (1716-1795) moved from Roxbury to West Newbury and purchased land, which is now Newell Farm on Main Street. His wife was Sarah Gerrish. In 1846, his son, Colonel Moses Newell, built the 25-room house now standing at 243 Main St. This house was originally on the Newell property and…

The Jewett-Cressey House, 39 Pleasant St., Rowley MA (1732)

The house at 39 Pleasant St. was built for Joseph Jewett in 1732. Ownership by Jewett heirs continued by inheritance and marriage through the Hale and Cressey surnames until 1947. The following information is from the MACRIS site of the Massachusetts Historical Commission: ROW.46 Langley – Jewett – Hale – Cressey House 39 Pleasant St.,…

Wicom-Pickard-Todd House, 215 Main St., Rowley MA (c. 1684/1725, moved in 1845)

Information from Land and Houses of Rowley by Joseph Dummer This house originally stood on Summer Street in Rowley. One and a half acres were granted to Richard Wicom, an early settler of the town (whose son, Capt. Daniel Wicom, was Quartermaster in King Phillip’s War). In 1661, Richard Wicom willed it to John Wicom…

The Bixby Family of Boxford and Topsfield, Massachusetts

This interactive Google map shows the locations of the homes of Joseph Bixby and his descendants. Click on the icons to read the information provided. The houses that are still standing feature photos of the houses today. The Boxford and Topsfield cemeteries both have at least a dozen Bixby gravestones, although most of them date to the 19th century. Joseph…

The Claflin-Richards House, Wenham (c. 1662-1672-1690)

The Claflin-Richards House at 132 Main St, Wenham, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The house presents a First Period dwelling room, a late 17th-century minister’s parlor, a circa 1750 bed chamber, and a Victorian-era chamber. The house is named for the first owner of the lot and the last resident before it…

The William Lampson -Bradley Palmer Estate

When Roger Preston arrived in Ipswich he first purchased a lot along the river across from what is now the intersection of Turkey Shore and Labor in Vain Roads. The earliest town records show the lot belonging to William Lamson, who died Feb. 1, 1658. In Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Thomas Franklin Waters notes: “William Lampson…

Keeping History Alive in Newburyport: the Interactive Map

The Newburyport Interactive History Map is a project created by Mary Baker Eaton, producer of The Newburyport Blog. It chronicles stories about the houses, people, places, events, streets and ancient roads that make up Newburyport’s rich history. View a list of all the entries that will be showcased. Many of the entries on the map are…

The Nathan Wheeler House, 38 Larkin Rd, Newbury (c. 1725)

While some of the frame may be from a pre-existing 17th-century building, structural evidence for the house points to a period of about 1730, with a later saltbox addition that was subsequently replaced with a modern ell.

The Joseph Noyes house, 8 Bromfield St., Newburyport MA (1678-1712-1774)

The Massachusetts Historical Commission’s MACRIS site refers to this as the Pierce House, with an estimated construction date of c. 1725, the year that Cottle’s Lane (later called South St., now Bromfield St.) was laid out. Structural features of the original one-over-one house indicate that it is significantly older.

How one house became two

The houses at 68 and 74 Essex Rd. in Ipswich were once two sections of the same house.

The Tristam Coffin House, 14 High Rd., Newbury MA (1678)

Dendrochronology conducted by the Oxford Tree-ring Labratory found that the south-facing rear wing of the Coffin house is the oldest, built in 1678. The front of the house facing the street was constructed in 1712.

Contention in the Commons: the Puritan open field land system in 17th Century Essex County

In the commons, the early Massachusetts towns adopted English institutions of land management that often predated their own experiences in the mother country, reproducing medieval systems whose roots dated back several centuries.

Deacon Solomon Dodge house, 153 Perkins Row, Topsfield MA

This well-preserved mid-eighteenth century farmhouse was built for Deacon Solomon Dodge (1721-1812) about 1769. Dea. Solomon Dodge (Phineas, John, John, Richard) was born in Wenham, 18 June, 1721, and died in Topsfield, 16 January, 1812. He married first, the widow Hannah (Green) Dodge, 30 December, 1742. She died 7 October, 1788, aged 74 in Topsfield.…

Joseph Gould House, 129 Washington St., Topsfield MA (ca. 1710 / ca. 1725)

The Capt. Joseph Gould house is a substantial early 18th Century house constructed in at least two stages, and the only First Period house in our area believed to have been constructed two rooms deep. The 1710 Gould Barn that once sat on this property was rebuilt at the foot of Howlett St.

A visit to the Parson Capen house in Topsfield

Built in 1682, this is a fine surviving example of Elizabethan architecture in America, and was the home of minister Joseph Capen.

Jetties of the New England Post-Medieval Renaissance

A projection of the second story over the first, which is common in parts of England, is also found in houses of the New England colonies. About half of the surviving examples are in Ipswich or immediately neighboring towns.

254 Main St. W. Newbury, the William Follansbe house (c. 1720)

In the 19th Century, the William Follansbe house was associated with the W. Newbury comb industry, and was later the home of Pulitzer Prize winner Margaret Louise Coit Elwell.

The Jacob Peabody House, 109 North St., Topsfield MA (c 1685)

This Topsfield house was built c.1685.

French-Andrews house, 86 Howlett St., Topsfield MA, c. 1718

A one story house built for John French stood upon this site about 1675. In 1718 it was sold to Joseph Andrews and, some time before 1798, it was raised to two stories and the easterly end was added. About the time of World War I, it was purchased by Thomas E. Proctor and was…

Platts-Wheeler-Chaplin-Stuart farm, 204 Dodge Rd., Rowley (c. 1700 and later)

The farm at 204 Dodge Rd. in Rowley is associated with several mills on the nearby Mill River. A chamfered First Period summer beam indicates that the oldest part of the house was constructed by Isaac Platts in the late 17th Century. The rare New England Dutch gambrel-roof barn has a ceramic tile silo. Nearby…

202 Main St., Rowley MA, the Deborah and Rev. John Pike house, 1839

The 1720 Northend house now at 169 Main St. was moved from this location in 1838, after which the present house was constructed. For much of the 19th Century this was the home of Rev. John Pike and his wife Deborah.

The Oldest Houses in Gloucester and Rockport presented by Pru Fish

The Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library present The Oldest Houses in Gloucester and Rockport with local historian Pru Fish.

Mighill-Perley House, 100 Main St., Rowley MA (1737 /c. 1820)

The the house at 100 Main St. in Rowley was built for Capt. Nathaniel Mighil in 1737, and was updated by his grandson Captain Nathaniel Mighil Perley in the early 19th Century.

The William Livermore House, 271 Essex St. Beverly MA (1671)

The William Livermore house began as a late First-Period two-and-a-half story, single-cell house to the right of the chimney. A single-cell, two-and-a-half story addition to the left of the chimney early in the Second-Period produced a two-room, central chimney plan.