Salem – Page 15 – Historic Buildings of Massachusetts

West India Goods Store (1804)

by Dan/June 30, 2009June 30, 2009/Commercial, Salem, Vernacular

Typical of the waterfront commercial buildings of early nineteenth century Salem is the West India Goods Store on Derby Street. Now a part of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, the Store was built sometime between 1800 and 1815, probably around 1804, by the merchant, Captain Henry Prince, Sr., when he lived in the Derby House next door. Prince probably used it as a warehouse, its first documented use as a store being in 1836. The store actually sold goods from all over the world, the term “West India Goods Store” being a generic term for a store selling international goods. The building was altered many times over the years, being moved at one point from the left of the house to the right. It was restored by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities in 1928 and was acquired by the Park Service in 1937. Today the Store sells items similar to those it would have sold in the nineteenth century.

Elias Hasket Derby House (1762)

by Dan/June 30, 2009September 17, 2016/Colonial, Houses, Salem

The Salem house of Elias Hasket Derby was built in 1762 and is the oldest surviving brick house in Salem. It was built by Richard Derby for his son on the occasion of Elias Hasket’s marriage to Elizabeth Crowninshield. Richard Derby had made his money through fishing and trade enterprises. During the Revolutionary War, Hasket converted many of the family’s cargo ships into privateers which preyed on British shipping. Wealth amassed from these activities later funded Derby’s involvement with the East India trade, which would make him America’s first millionaire. The house was sold in 1796 to another successful merchant, Captain Henry Prince, Sr., who built the West India Goods Store next to the house around 1800. After the Prince family left the home in 1827, it had other owners and was used as a tenement house for a time. In the early twentieth century, it was purchased and restored by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities and in 1937 was transferred to become part of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site.

Benjamin Hawkes House (1801)

by Dan/April 5, 2009September 17, 2016/Federal, Houses, Salem

The Benjamin Hawkes House is located off Derby Street in Salem, between the Custom House and the Richard Derby House. The house was originally planned by Samuel McIntire as a home for Elias Hasket Derby in 1780, but was then abandoned in 1782, when Derby moved to a house near the center of town. Left unfinished for almost twenty years, in 1801 it was acquired by the shipbuilder, Benjamin Hawkes, who reduced the building’s size and altered it to accommodate two families. Today the Federal-style building is used as administrative offices by the Park Service for the Salem Maritime National Historic Site.

Narbonne House (1675)

by Dan/February 19, 2009September 17, 2016/Colonial, Houses, Salem

The Narbonne House, on Essex Street in Salem, is part of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site. It was built in 1675 by Thomas Ives, a butcher (or “slaughterer”). The oldest section of the house has a prominent peaked roof. Later owners added to the building, with part of the lean-to and the gambrel-roofed ell probably being constructed when Capt. John Hodges owned the house in the third quarter of the eighteenth century. In 1780, the house was purchased by Jonathan Andrew. His granddaughter, Sarah Narbonne, was born inside and lived there until her death, at age 101, in 1895. Her daughter Mary lived there until her death in 1905. The Park Service acquired the historic structure in 1963. Instead of being restored to a particular period, the Narbonne House is kept unfurnished as an architectural study house. There is a video of a talk outsidethe Narbonne House: Continue reading “Narbonne House (1675)”

Benjamin W. Crowninshield House (1812)

by Dan/December 16, 2008September 17, 2016/Federal, Houses, Salem

Built 1810-1812 on Derby Street in Salem, the Benjamin W. Crowninshield House may be based on a plan by Samuel McIntire, but completed after his death by his son, Samuel Field McIntire. Benjamin Williams Crowninshield was a congressman and Secretary of the Navy (1815-1818) under presidents Madison and Monroe, the latter of whom once stayed in the house. Brigader General James Miller, a hero of the War of 1812, lived in the house while he was serving as collector at the Custom House next door from 1825 to 1829. The house’s Greek Revival front porch was added after 1820 and the building was expanded in the rear in 1906 and 1916. The house has been used, as noted on a panel on the front facade, as a “Home for Aged Women presented by Robert Brookhouse in 1861”

Simon Forrester House (1790)

by Dan/December 15, 2008September 17, 2016/Federal, Houses, Salem

In 1791, Capt. Simon Forrester acquired an unfinished house on Derby Street in Salem. The three-story hipped-roof house has been attributed to Samuel McIntire and the east parlor mantelpiece, carved by McIntire, is now in the Peabody Essex Museum. Forrester was a Irish born ship captain, brought to America by Capt. Daniel Hathorne, the grandfather of Nathaniel Hawthorne (Forrester is mentioned in The Scarlet Letter). Forrester married Capt. Hathorne’s daughter and became wealthy during the Revolutionary War. Many of the house‘s architectural details were removed or altered after the First World War, but more recently the house has been restored to a more original appearance.

Derby-Ward House (1738)

by Dan/December 14, 2008September 17, 2016/Colonial, Houses, Salem

The Derby-Ward House, on Derby Street in Salem, was built around 1738 by the sea captain Richard Derby. He was the father of the wealthy and celebrated merchant Elias Hasket Derby, the statesman Richard Derby, Jr. and the ship captain John Derby. The gambrel-roofed house has an enclosed entry porch, similar to those on other homes of wealthy Salem families, which was added after the house was built. The house was purchased by the Ward family after the Revolutionary War. Update: Check out the recent article on the house at SalemPatch.