The Israel Snow House stands at 9 Water Street in the South End of Rockland, Maine, and it is one of the regions finest examples of late Greek Revival architecture. The residence was built for Captain Israel Snow (1801-1875), a mariner and captain of several vessels, including the schooner Maria (1829), the brigSnow(1835-36), the brig Lucy Ann(1842), and the Barque Star (1848). In 1850, he and his wife Lucy moved from Thomaston to Rockland, and he would build this stately mansion where they raised seven children. Some records put the construction of this house at 1861, but that seems very late for such an example of this style. In 1863, he founded Snows Point Shipyard on Mechanic Street in the South End. Rockland was the fourth largest seaport in the United States in terms of production and commerceat the time, and Snows shipyard was a large part of that production. This residence is now offices to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

The Farnsworth Homestead is located on Elm Street in Downtown Rockland, Maine, and is an excellent example of a mid-19th century residence in the Greek Revival style. The home was built in 1850 for Rockland businessman William Alden Farnsworth, who gained his income from lime-rock quarries and the Rockland Water Company. Mr. Farnsworth was a leading businessman who helped establish Rockland as the number four port in the United States, largely exporting lime for masonry construction all down the east coast. After William died in 1873, the property was inherited by his heirs, the last of which, Lucy Farnsworth, lived here until her own death in 1935. The 96-year-old Lucy Farnsworth died in the home and in her will, bequeathed the family property and ample funds to establish the Farnsworth Art Museum, and included preservation of the family homestead as a mid-19th century house museum, which it remains to this day. The Greek Revival style house with its flushboard siding and bold pilasters, was recently restored by the museum, along with the carriage house which stands to its east.

William Hurd Glover (1834-1910) was a prominent lumber dealer and builder in Rockland, Maine, and would built this house as his residence on Talbot Avenue. Mr. Glover hired architect Charles F. Douglas, to furnish the plans for the Second Empire style mansion. While covered in vinyl siding, the handsome residence features a slate mansard roof, central tower, delicate projecting portico over the entrance, and decorative window hoods and brackets. The house is one of the best examples of the style in Maine, even with the later siding.

Located next door to the William H. Glover House on Talbot Avenue in Rockland, Maine, this equally impressive Second Empire style Victorian residence stands as one of the finest in town. The abode was built in 1874 for Captain Albert Franklin Ames (1831-1887) by the architectural firm of Kimball & Coombs of Maine. Albert F. Ames was a sea captain and merchant who would later own many ships to distribute his manufacturing of lime casks which were sold and transported all down the east coast to build American cities. The stately home would later be the subject of one of artist Edward Hoppers paintings in Rockland, titled, Talbot House after a later owner.

The General Davis Tillson House was built in 1853 and is one of the best examples of a high-style Gothic Revival residence in the Mid-Coast region of Maine. Located on Talbot Avenue in Rockland, Maine, the house was first owned by General Davis Tillson (1830-1895), a prominent local businessman who owned lime manufacturing facilities and the towns main wharf before enlisting for service in the American Civil War. Tillson had attended the United States Military Academy at West Point (1845-1851) but did not graduate due to an injury which forced the amputation of one of his legs. During the Civil War, Davis Tillson fought with distinction at the Battles of Cedar Mountain and Second Bull Run. Promoted up to Lieutenant Colonel, then Brigadier General, US Volunteers on March 21, 1863, he later served as Chief of Artillery, and commanded defensive fortifications in the siege of Knoxville before the conclusion of the war. Afterwhich, General Tillson was selected to serve as Director of Freedmens Bureau in Georgia and Tennessee. The Bureau was established in 1865 by Congress to help millions of former Black slaves and poor whites in the South in the aftermath of the Civil War. The Freedmens Bureau provided food, housing and medical aid, established schools and offered legal assistance. It also attempted to settle former slaves on land confiscated or abandoned during the war. After two years in Tennessee, Tillson would return to Rockland to his home and spend the rest of his life in Maine from this home. The General Tillson House is notable for the use of brick and the steeply pitched gable roof with jigsawn bargeboards.

This handsome Tudor residence was built around 1905 forWilliam Oliver Fuller (1856-1941)and his wife,Kathleen Stephens Fuller (1869-1948), and can be found at thecorner of Beech and Lincoln streetsin the finest neighborhood in Rockland, Maine. Although an architect could not be established at this time, the high-style residence features half-timbered gables, an inset front porch framed by stone pillars, and an absolutely perfect color palette. William Fuller was a newspaper publisher, who created his first newspaper, the Rockland Enterprise when he was 18 years old and in high school. He would go on to becomethe editor and publisher of the Courier-Gazette, the regions main newspaper. Kathleen Fuller frequented the newspaper herself through her published poetry and columns and would later become an associate editor and co-owner of the paper.

Photo courtesy of Berry Manor InnThe Charles Berry House is located at81 Talbot Avenue in Rockland, Maine, and it is one of the towns finest examples of a residence built in the Colonial Revival style. The house was built forCharles Howard Berry (1849-1909), a businessman whooperated a stage route, livery stables, and later entered the hotel business. He would hire Portland-based architect, Austin Pease, to furnish the plans for the house and adjacent carriage house. The residence features a symmetrical faade with front porch and porte-cochere, Palladian window over the entrance, bowed front, and ornate dormers at the roof. The entire property is lovingly maintained and preserved and is now home to theBerry Manor Inn, an up-scale bed & breakfast that maintains the old charm of Rockland, while providing high-class finishes.

The Strand Theater on Main Street in Rockland, Maine, is a great example of the inter-war theaters that sprouted up in towns all across the country following WWI. The theater was built in 1922-23, on the site of a building destroyed in a 1922 fire that swept through the southern part of Rocklands downtown. The steel-framed theater, with its terracotta tile walls and ornamental brick facade is fairly unadorned, besides the blade sign marquee reading STRAND. Two storefronts, a cigar store and a flower shop, were also incorporated into the theater, framing the entrance. The theater stayed open until the early 2000s when the local multiplex bought it and closed it. In February, 2004, the theatre was purchased by a long-time summer resident who restored the building and opened it back up. The Strand remains a vital economic and cultural center for the town, and its preservation is an important piece of Rocklands charming Main Street.

The Rockland Security Trust Building is a significant Colonial Revival style bank structure located on Main Street in Downtown Rockland, Maine. Built in 1912 from plans by Boston architect Richard Clipston Sturgis, the brick building is trimmed in marble, to provide a visual representation to the financial wealth and stability the bank could provide its clients. The bank closed and the building is presently occupied by an art gallery. Sadly, the rooftop deck railing takes away so much from the buildings presence.

The Rockland Public Library in Rockland, Maine, is an architecturally significant civic building that showcases the coastal towns prosperity at the turn of the 20th century. The library was built in 190304, and was funded in part by a $20,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie. It is the citys only major example of Beaux Arts architecture, a style that is also uncommon in the state. The library was designed by Maine native George Clough,who used granite quarried from nearby Vinalhaven in its construction. The building was later expanded by an addition at the rear, but from the street, the handsome Beaux Arts library looks near-identical as to when it was built over 120 years ago!

Photo included in HABS documentationIt saddens me to see photos and learn about some of the amazing buildings demolished in the name of progress; it is even more disappointing when said building is replaced by a surface parking lot (over 50 years later)! This great stone building was built in Rockland, Maine, in 1876 as the towns post office and custom house by the Federal government. Relatively unknown architect Alfred B. Mullett is credited with the design as he served from 1866 to 1874 asSupervising Architect of theUnited States Treasury Department. The building can be classified as Italianate-Second Empire in style and is constructed of massive, rough-faced granite block walls with a shallow mansard roof above. The building was offered for sale by the U.S. Government in 1967, likely due to the upkeep costs and a shrinking local population with the dependency on maritime trade diminished. The building was ultimately razed in late 1969, with a new, uninspiring, post office built next door to this site.

This stately commercial block is found on Main Street in Rockland, Maine. The block originally housed the local custom house (before a larger, purpose-built custom house was erected nearby in 1873) with other retail and commercial spaces at the ground floor with offices and meeting space above. The block is a great example of the Italianate style with an intricate brick corbeled cornice and cast iron and marble storefronts. The commercial space occupied by the First National Bank also exhibits a stone medallion with deer set within a wreath over the entrance. The detail that stood out to me most was the cast iron lintels over the windows, with the second floor lintels including a mans face! The building is well preserved and is today occupied by local businesses.

The Rankin Block is a significant early commercial building in Rockland, Maine. The brick block was built in 1853 by Samuel Rankin, a descendant of one of the areas first European settlers. Its location was near the center of the citys shipbuilding industries, and replaced an earlier commercial building destroyed by fire. Its early tenants included a ship chandlery, shipping offices, and asail loft. The vernacular Greek Revival style building is constructed of brick and granite, showcasing the no-frill architecture that working Maine sailors preferred. The building is now occupied by a senior living facility. Talk about a great adaptive reuse!

The Rockland Harbor Breakwater and Lighthouse is arguably the most iconic structure in the coastal town of Rockland, Maine. As Rockland was a major port and harbor, relying on the transportation of lime and shipbuilding for its economy, protecting the harbor was of paramount importance. Major storms in the 1850s highlighted the need for improved harbor protection, but federal appropriations for a breakwater were not approved until 1880. Between 1880 and 1900 theUnited States Army Corps of Engineers, under a series of Congressional appropriations, built the breakwater, a 4,364 foot long wall in the harbor built of locally quarried blocks of granite. It is truly a feat of engineering!The lighthousestanding at its end was added in 1902. The iconic breakwater is accessible by those who brave the crashing waves and distance to the end of the nearly mile-long walk out to the lighthouse. The structure is today maintained by volunteers and the City of Rockland.

Welcome toRockland, Maine! Originally called Catawamteak by theAbenaki, meaning great landing place, Rockland was first settled by European settlers in In 1769 as a camp to produce oak staves and pine lumber. In 1777, when Thomaston was incorporated, present-day Rockland became a district called Shore village. In 1848, it was set off as the town of East Thomaston and renamed Rockland in 1850. The coastal community grew quickly as a shipbuilding and lime production center, with upwards of 300 vessels to transport the mineral to various ports in the country for the building of communities all down the coast. The opening of the Knox and Lincoln Railroad in 1871 brought an influx of tourists and businesses, creating a development boom for the community. The line was leased to the Maine Central Railroad in 1891, which took over ownership in 1901. The Rockland Railroad Station,seen here, was built in 1917, just before the government took over the railroads during World War I.Architects Coolidge and Shattuckdesigned the station in the Romanesque Revival style with the oversized arched openings at the windows and main entrance. The rise of the automobile industry would further harm rail service and usage, and the Rockland Branch officially closed in 1959. The old Rockland branch station operated as the Rockland Town Hall for decades and is now occupied by a local restaurant,Trackside Station.

The Knox County Courthouse stands in Downtown Rockland, Maine, and is a landmark example of a Civic building constructed in the Italianate style. Knox County was separated from adjacentLincoln Countyin 1860, with the coastal city of Rockland established as its county seat. For its first fifteen years, county offices were dispersed amongst buildings until in 1874 when the county retained Boston architect Gridley James Fox Bryantto design the present building. The building was constructed at a cost of $83,000, well over the anticipated $50,000 cost, and opened in 1875. The first floor accommodated all the county offices, with fireproof storage areas for records. The second floor was be taken up by the courtroom, and at either end were rooms for judges, jury and counsel.

The Derby Summer House sits on the Glen Magna Farms property in Danvers, Massachusetts, and is a rare and excellent example of a formal 18th century garden house in the Federal Style. The structure was built in 1793-94 by Samuel Mclntire, the noted craftsman-carpenter of Salem, on the country farm of Elias Hasket Derby in South Danvers. The Derby Farm was sold off by the family, but in 1901, Mrs. Ellen Peabody Endicott, a descendant of the original owners, bought the Derby Summer House and transported it to Glen Magna Farm, their own summer residence. A shopping center now occupies the original location of the Derby Farm. Inside the structure on the first floor, there are two small rooms which are divided by a central hall that extends through the structure. The steps and vestibule at this level are surfaced in white marble. The second floor, where tea was served, was decorated in an Oriental manner. A wood parquet floor, dating from the first decade of this century is still in place. The structure with its carved figures has been studied and replicated by architects and historians for decades, but nothing beats the original.

Glen Magna Farms is a historic estate located in Danvers, Massachusetts, and it is one of the lesser-known historic properties of this stature. During the War of 1812, Joseph Peabody, the wealthiest Salem shipping merchant of his day, bought a 20-acre Danvers farm with a dwelling house. The c.1790 house was likely updated at this time in a higher example of the Federal style, and used as a summer residence the family would escape to during the warmer months. Peabody purchased additional property and Glen Magna grew to over 130-acres. William Crowninshield Endicott, who served as Secretary of War during the Grover Cleveland administration, married Ellen Peabody, granddaughter of Joseph Peabody in 1859. The couple would inherit Glen Magna and later hire the firm of Little, Browne, and Moore in the 1890s to renovate the mansion and update the gardens. Ellen Peabody Endicott would also have the Derby Summer House added to the grounds by 1901. In 1963, the Danvers Historical Society purchased the house and eleven acres of surrounding gardens which they painstakingly restored to their early 20th century condition. Glen Magna can now be rented out for weddings and other events!

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia commons. The Fowler Houseislocated in the Danversport section of Danvers, Massachusetts, and is one of the towns few brick Federal period homes. The residence was built in 1809 by builders Levi Preston and Stephen Whipple forSamuel Fowler Jr., an early Danvers industrialist and landowner in this part of town. The property was passed down through generations of theFowlerfamily and ultimately acquired by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA, now known as Historic New England) as theirsecond property acquisition in 1912. Uniquely, Historic New England granted life occupancy of the house to the two unwed Fowler sisters, who had resided here, even as it was converted into a museum. When bought by SPNEA, some members were concerned that the Fowler house was not grand or architecturally interesting enough to warrant its acquisition, Samuel Appleton, the founder, stated,As might be expected, the Fowler home reflects the simple tastes of its owner. As seen from the square the house is as severely simple as it could be. It depends for its effect on its very simplicity and admirable proportions. The principal features of the house may be said to be simplicity, good taste, solid construction, splendid preservation, and homogeneity. The property was eventually sold by Historic New England to a private owner,but a preservation easementby the Society ensures its preservation for the future. The Fowler House was recently listed for sale, and the property retains many historical features, including original ca. 1810 wallpaper in the main two-story entry hall and a large hearth in the main kitchen, its original floors, plaster, woodwork and other features.

Xavier Hallwas built between 1910-11 on the campus ofSt. Johns Prep Schoolin Danvers, Massachusetts. The building was constructed by the Xaverian Brothers as classrooms as the first purpose-built structure in what would become a large campus. The Neo-Gothic Revival style building was sited adjacent to Porphyry Hall, an 1880 estate house that the new school purchased in 1891, which was later expanded by the addition of a rear chapel.Edward T. P. Graham, an architect best known for his design of Roman Catholic churches and associated buildings, was hired to design the stately structure built of brick and limestone.

Built in 1925 as the cafeteria forSt. Johns Prep School in Danvers, Massachusetts, this handsome brick building issited across Summer Streetfrom Porphyry and Xavier halls, both built decades earlier. The structure was designed by architect, Matthew Sullivan, a member of the notable firm,Maginnis, Walsh & Sullivan, who specialized in ecclesiastical design in the Boston area. The firm disbanded in 1907 with Sullivan creating his own practice, where he won the commission for this building years later. The cafeteria is Neo-Gothic in style with Gothic tracery, lancet arches, buttresses and pinnacles at the entrances. This is a really underrated and stunning structure. I am glad to see it so well-preserved 100 years later!

The Jacob E. Spring Mansion, also known as Porphyry Hall, is a high-style estate house located in Danvers, Massachusetts, that is one of the finest and most unique in the state! The house was built in 1880 forJacob Evans Spring (1825-1905), who was born in Brownfield, Maine, and at the age of twenty, he went to Argentina and amassed a fortune in the wool business in Buenos Aires between 1845 and 1865, when he returned to the United States. Jacob and his wife,Sara Duffy, would purchase a large farm in Danvers and began planning for their family country home.Their residence was built on a high hillover two years and constructed of over 40 types of stones of irregular size and color with door and window sills of Nova Scotia freestone with arches of the doors and windows and corners of brick. The mansion was designed by architectGeorge M. Hardingof Boston, and built by several skilled masons over many months. Mr. Spring named his estate, Porphyry Hall with Porphyry meaning an igneous rock with large crystals in a fine-grained matrix; suitable for the walls of their mansion. The Springs lived lavishly at this home and spent nearly all of their fortune, selling the property after just ten years to theXaverian Brothers, who opened it asSaint Johns Normal College. In 1907, the compound was re-organized as a Catholic boys prep school. In 1915,a chapelwas added to the rear of the building, constructed from gray fieldstone to blend with the main house. Have you ever seen a building like this?

TheGeneral Israel Putnam Housein Danvers, Massachusetts, was built circa 1648 by Lieutenant Thomas Putnam on farmland that then consisted of 100 acres. In 1692, his youngest son,Joseph Putnam, lived here, inheriting the property over his half-brother,Thomas Putnam, Jr. (1652-1699), causing friction within the family. During the infamous witch trials and hysteria in Salem Village, Joseph Putnam was one of two people who took notes during the examinations of the first three to be accused of witchcraft in 1692 Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba. From that point forward, he was one of the most outspoken opponents of the proceedings, which put him in direct conflict with most of the Putnam family, especially that of his half-brother Thomas. Fearing accusations against him by his half-brother, Joseph was said to have kept horses saddled at all times, ready to escape at a moments notice. He was never accused, though Thomas Putnam was responsible for the accusations of 43 people, and his daughter was responsible for 62. In 1718,Israel Putnam, the son of Joseph Putnam, and later Commander of the colonial troops at the Battle of Bunker Hill, was born in this house. It is the only extant structure with direct ties to Commander Putnam. During theBattle of Bunker Hill, Putnam is thought to have ordered William Prescott to tell his troops, Dont fire until you see the whites of their eyes. This command has since become one of the American Revolutions notable quotations. It was given to make the best use of the low ammunition stocks that the troops had. The Putnam House remained in the family into the 20thcentury, and due to highway and commercial expansion, the property now sits in the middle of a cloverleaf intersection of two highways.The house was given by the Putnam family to the Danvers Historical Society in 1991, but as of 2020, the Putnam family once again owns the property. The house is not holding up well and I could not locate plans for restoration or preservation of it online. This house deserves to be preserved.

This large house sits on Peabody Avenue in Danvers, Massachusetts, and is thought to be the oldest house built of cement in the United States! Joshua Sylvester Silvester (1803-1888), the houses original owner, was born in Wiscasset, Maine, and began working in the shoemaking business, expanding his products in England, taking many business trips there. While in England, he is said to have particularly admired Charles Dickenss estate, Gads Hill, and modeled his Danvers home after it. Joshua Silvester not only designed this house, but directly supervised its construction which is of hand-poured concrete by two masons imported to town to work on the house. The fifteen-room residence with octagon-shaped barn was complete by 1858. In 1880, the property was purchased by Isaac B. Howe of Clinton, Iowa. Howe was a civil engineerwho had helped to lay out the Transcontinental Railroad and had been superintendent of the Iowa division of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad. Howe died within a year of moving to Danvers,but his family continued to live in the house for many years.

Built circa 1670 and today known as the Holten House, this large, First Period home can be found in Salem Village, present day Danvers, Massachusetts. While the house has been significantly expanded over the years, the original structure is at the eastern (right) end of the house that stands today and grew as families and living styles grew. The residence was first built for Benjamin Holten (Houlton) and was later occupied by Sarah Holten, who in 1692 gave testimony againstRebecca Nurse, who lived on a farm nearby,which led to her death in theSalem Witch Trials. During theAmerican Revolutionary War, it was the home of JudgeSamuel Holten, aFounding Father of the United Stateswho served in the Continental Congress. The house was acquired by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1921 and was restored. It is open to tours by appointment.

In 1856, George Peabody, an American banker and philanthropist, donated funds for a library for Danvers, Massachusetts. The original library was housed in the Town Hall until land was acquired on land that is today known as Peabody Park. In 1866, Peabody deeded the town additional funds for a purpose-built library building, similar to that of Peabody, Massachusetts (which separated from Danvers in 1855). A Gothic style library was built on this site from plans by architect Gridley J. F. Bryantwith the purpose for the promotion of knowledge and morality in the Town of Danvers. On July 2, 1890, a massive fire destroyed the Danvers library, but many of the collections and volumes were saved by townspeople. Through insurance funds and additional money by trustees, it was decided to rebuild the library on the same site, retaining the architectural firm of Little & Browne, (whose chief draftsman, Lester S. Couch, was a Danvers resident) to design the new building. The present Georgian/Classical Revival structure was completed in 1892 and is one of the finest library buildings in New England.

The former Wadsworth School of Danvers, Massachusetts, was built in 1897 as a district schoolhouse for the growing town and is one of the finest examples of a school building designed in the Colonial Revival style in the state. The large building held four classrooms (two on each floor) for over 200 pupils with stairhalls at either entrance and was designed by local architect, William H. Pearce. The school was in use until the 1970s when the town consolidated many of the schools, selling this building as excess. The property was converted to offices and given a preservation restriction by the town, protecting it as a local landmark for generations to come!

Diminutive in scale, the one-room Putnamville Schoolhouse at 224 Locust Street in Danvers, Massachusetts, showcases a stark difference in scale and design to the later Wadsworth and Tapleyville schools in town. Built in 1852, the transitional Greek Revival and Italianate style schoolhouse served the more rural district number 3 in town. The first class of 42 pupils was taught by Miss Sophia C . Appleton who ranged from 5 to 15 years of age. Due to a consolidation of schools in town, the building finally closed in 1974. In 1976, the Danvers Art Association leased the building for years. It is unclear to me at this time what the school is used for. Does anyone know more?

Edwin Mudge (1818-1890) was a major shoe manufacturer and a representative to the Massachusetts General Court. In 1844, he married Lydia Nichols Bryant, and in 1852, the couple hired Edwins brother, a carpenter, to build this house at 108 Centre Street in Danvers, Massachusetts. A son, Francis was born October 4, 1846, and his sister Lydianna was born March 20, 1853. Tragically, both brother and sister died in 1855 of what was described as brain fever or dropsy in the head. Frank, one month shy of 10 years of age, passed away on September 8, 1855, followed by little two-year-old Lydianna exactly one month later. They are buried together in the local cemetery and a portrait of them is in the Danvers Historical Society collections. Edwin and Lydia would have one other child, Sarah Mudge (1857-1938), who grew up to be a prominent citizen and one of the founders of the Danvers Historical Society. The formerly simple Greek Revival style cottage was Victorianized in the Stick/Eastlake style with the addition of delicate bargeboards, a hood over the new double-door entry with iron balustrade, and side dormers.

This large First Period house was built on the outskirts of Salem Village, now Danvers, Massachusetts, and moved to its present location in 1845. The residence was originally built around 1680 for John Darling (c.1637-1713), a mariner, who farmed the land here when he was not at sea or residing on the island of Monhegan in Maine (then a part of Massachusetts Bay Colony). John Darling (sometimes spelled Dollin or Dollen) died in 1713 and his estate went to his eldest son, Thomas, who farmed on the land there until the property was sold in 1734 to Dr. Jonathan Prince (c.1707-1753), one of the first resident physicians of Danvers, Massachusetts. Dr. Prince would practice medicine from his home and taught students the medical profession until he passed away at home in 1753. The home was later moved to its present site in 1845 by owner, John Hook, who likely expanded the home to its present configuration.

There arent many extant buildings with direct ties to the Salem witch trials of the 1690s, but this First Period house on Centre Street in Danvers is one of them! This is the Thomas Haines House, built in 1681 for Thomas Haines. During the witchcraft hysteria of 1692, Thomas testified in the trials of Elizabeth Howe and John Willard, who were accused of witchcraft. Elizabeth would be executed by hanging on July 19, 1692 and John was hanged on August 19, 1692. Less than a year following the frenzy of the trials, Thomas received a license to keep a public house of entertainment & sell strong drink as an innholder. He remained here until 1703, when he sold his home and land to John Allen, a gunsmith, and removed to Salem, New Jersey. The First Period home with saltbox roof is in great condition and was restored to its historic appearance in the 20th century. The property is privately owned.

In 1754, a 32-year-old brickmaker Jeremiah Page built this large, gambrel-roofed Georgian house in Danvers, Massachusetts, for his young family. Jeremiah and his first wife, Sarah, raised nine children here and dreamed of liberty from England. Following the Tea Act, passed by British Parliament in 1773 that granted theBritish East India Company Teaa monopoly on tea sales in the American colonies, Page was said to have demanded that none shall drink tea in my house. One evening when her husband was out, Sarah Page is said to have invited several women from the neighborhood up to the porch atop the Page Houses gambrel roof to enjoy tea. Larcom quotes Page as telling her friends, Upona house is notwithinit, thereby finding a loophole around her husbands directive. This legend was enshrined in the poem The Gambrel Roof (1874) by Lucy Larcom, who knew Sarah Pages granddaughter.Jeremiah Page would fight in the Revolution, serving as a Captain. The Page House remained in the family for two more generations, Sarah Pages daughter in-law, Mary Page died in 1876 and her will put the property into a trust with the stipulation that once there were no longer any Page descendants to live there, the historic house was to be torn down. After Mary Pages daughter Anne Lemist Page died in 1913, the trustee planned to demolish it according to her wishes. The Danvers Historical Society sprung into action and sued to oppose the will, fighting to preserve this significant home. They won, and relocated the home a block from Elm Street to its present site on Page Street, where it stands today. The Danvers Historical Society maintain the structure to this day, including the porch at the roof where the tea party once took place.

Years after the Danvers Historical Society acquired the Jeremiah Page House, saving and relocating it to its present location on Page Street, the society began planning for a new facility to house its collections. After a successful fundraising campaign, the society solicited plans from local architect, Lester S. Couch, a partner in the firm, Little & Browne, and member of the historical society, to design the new memorial building. Designed in 1930 and completed a year later, the Colonial Revival style building is constructed of fireproof brick walls with a hipped roof. Two entrances are located on the side elevation facing the Page House, with pedimented surrounds and blind fanlight transoms. The building is notable for the use of slightly recessed arched bays, common in Federal and Federal Revival buildings. The Tapley Memorial Hall is still maintained by the society and can be rented out for functions.

The land that is now Danvers, Massachusetts, was once owned by theNaumkeagbranch of the Massachusett tribe. Permanent European settlement began in 1636, when present-day Danvers was known as Salem Village, a village of Salem. The historical event for which Danvers is best-known is theSalem witch trials of 1692, which began in the home of Rev. Samuel Parris, in Salem Village. Danvers officially separated from Salem in 1752 and is likely named after Sir Danvers Osborn, a Colonial Governor of New York. In 1757, Massachusetts incorporated Danvers as a town and, according to legend,King George IIlater vetoed this act of incorporation and returned his decree with the message, The King Unwilling. They simply ignored this royal veto, which was later included on the towns seal! Danvers would eventually build a central town hall building , this structure, in 1854 which partially functioned as a high school as well. Plans were drawn by the Salem architectural firm of Emmerton & Foster in a pleasing blending of Greek Revival and Italianate styles. As the town grew, the building was expanded in 1883, and in the 1890s. When a new, purpose-built high-school was constructed elsewhere in town in the early 1930s, it was decided to renovate the town hall building. Due to financial constraints during the Great Depression, the town got a lifeline by the Federal government, who in 1934, appropriated $6,500 to the town for a renovated town hall as part of the New Deal. Additional funds from the WPA went to murals (many of which still adorn the walls inside). Architect Lester S. Couch of Danvers, a partner in the firm Little & Browne, oversaw the renovations in the Colonial Revival style.

In about 1842, a Salem merchant, Joseph Adams, built this stately Greek Revival style mansion on Pine Street in Danvers, Massachusetts. Named Overlook, the house is a simplified adaptation of the temple-front form with three columns supporting an entablature and closed pediment above. Joseph Adams was an instrumental force who brought an Episcopal church to Danvers, bankrolling the new building there himself. By 1862, the house was owned by Milton P. Braman (1799-1882), who had just retired as pastor for the First Church of Danvers. Of particular note, when news reached Danvers of the assassination of President Lincoln, a gang of men there captured two men who had said unkind words of the late president, and tar and feathered them. A number of the mob were said to have planned to also go to Rev. Bramans house here to do the same to him, as he was said to have been a copperhead a democrat whoopposedtheAmerican Civil Warand wanted an immediate peace settlement with theConfederates. Reverend Braman got wind of the plans of the local mob and had men stationed in the windows with shotguns, with the order to shoot anyone who entered the property. Luckily for all involved, the mob never showed. He would later move to Brookline and Newton. Overlook remains a significant country estate and very well-preserved by the owners.

The last building constructed on the former Andover Newton Theological School in Newton, Massachusetts, was Wilson Chapel, located at the edge of the campus. The building is a modern interpretation of the traditional New England meetinghouse, and was completed in 2007 from plans by Context Architecture. The limestone building is punctuated by a grid of square punched windows and raised panels with the primary facade dominated by a glass tower, resembling the more traditional steeple. To me, the building does an excellent job at respecting the basic forms of a New England chapel, while utilizing contemporary materials and design elements to distinguish it as a 21st century structure.

The Hills Library is a formal building standing at the summit of Institution Hill, so-named as the home of the Newton Theological Institution (and most recently as the Andover Newton Theological School). The library was constructed in 1895 from plans by architects Henry H. Kendall and Edward F. Stevens of the firm, Kendall & Stevens. Designed in 1894 in the Neo-Classical style, the library has a stately portico in the Ionic order with a pediment above. The building is constructed of yellow brick with stone and terracotta trimmings with banks of vertical windows. The library would be added onto at the rear, with the main entrance later closed for an accessible entrance in a rear addition. The building is now known as the Hanns Sachs Memorial Library for the current owners and stewards, the Boston Psychoanalytic Society & Institute (BPSI).

The Newton Theological Institution, a school originally founded for the Baptist ministry, opened on Institution Hill in Newton Center in 1825. The 40-acre campus started with six buildings, including this one, Farwell Hall, built in 1829. Farwell Hall is the oldest extant building on the campus today and is named after benefactor and early founder of the school, Levi Farwell. The brick building began as a late-Federal-designed building with a classic Federal Style window fenestration and Adamesque brick arches on the first story side elevations, but the formerly Federal style building was modernized in 1871 with the addition of a fourth floor via a mansard roof, and a more recent, unfortunate altered entry with projecting roof. After the Andover Newton Theological School sold their campus, the building has since been home to an assisted care facility.

Colby Hall sits perched atop a hill overlooking Newton Centre, Newton, and is located in the Andover Newton Theological School campus. The building was constructed in 1886 for the Newton Theological Institution, which was founded on this site in 1825, and used for the aBaptist seminary, educating young students in theology. By the 1860s, the school had outgrown its space and following a donation from benefactor, Gardner Colby(18101879), who was treasurer of the school (and was also the benefactor and namesake ofColby Collegein Maine) plans were drawn up for the new lecture spaces and chapel building. The unique building was designed by Alexander Rice Esty, a prominent architect at the time, and it blends Second Empire and Romanesque Revival styles under one roof. The three-story structure is of a light buff, rough cut stone with sandstone trim and features an imposing four-story tower at the eastern end. In November 2015, the school announced that it would sell its campus and become part ofYale Divinity Schoolin New Haven, Connecticut. The Newton campus was purchased by the Windsor Park School with Colby Hall now occupied by the Boston Psychoanalytic Society & Institute.

The Newton Centre Womens Club began in 1887 when a group of women in the village came together to work for the relief of disabled veterans from the Civil War. Their objectives included giving aid to charitable causes, mutual improvement through literary, along with artistic and educational pursuits. Expanding membership over the next two decades strengthened the club, enabling them to build their clubhouse in 1922on land given to them. The Georgian Revival style clubhouse wasdesignedby architectOscar A. Thayerand the building featured a large art gallery for artists to showcase their work as well as members to bring in art of their own collections to study and discuss. Due to shifting social structures and an aging population of members, the clubhouse was sold in 1973 and converted to commercial use. The building was renovated with more modern windows and other features and was renamedPicadilly II. In the spirit of the club and its push for community, the building houses many local companies frequented by residents today.