Category: Colonial

Old Strong House (1744)

by Dan//Amherst, Colonial, Houses

The gambrel-roofed dwelling known as the Old Strong House, at 67 Amity Street in Amherst, was built in 1744 by Nehemiah Strong. As related by Alice M. Walker in Historic Homes of Amherst (1905):

Samuel Strong, the ancestor of the Strongs in Amherst […], married Esther Clapp, and soon after her death took for his second wife, Mrs. Ruth Sheldon Wright. He had twelve children, most of whom settled on farms in Hadley and South Hadley. His third son Nehemiah, married about 1728 Hannah Edwards, the daughter of Jonathan French of Northampton, and widow of Nathaniel Edwards, who was killed by Indians. Unwilling for some reason to settle permanently in Northampton, Nehemiah Strong took council with his brothers, living across the river, as to the most desirable location for a home, and settled upon Hadley third precinct, where land was cheap and plentiful. He purchased a tract at the junction of the west highway and the road leading to Hadley, with the intent of building a mansion of the latest style and most approved design.

Nehemiah’s son, Simeon, a lawyer, inherited the house. Quoting again from Walker:

Young Simeon erected for himself an office on the west side of his dwelling, and it is possible made some changes in the back part of the mansion, as tradition hints that once the roof sloped to the ground.

During the Revolution:

Most prominent among the loyalists was Simeon Strong, and the old Strong house became the headquarters of the Tory faction. […] The learned advocate, honest in his convictions, in spite of his Tory principles, kept the respect of his fellow townsmen, maintained his standing at the bar and accumulated wealth. The small addition to the rear of the family mansion held his law library and pamphlets, and served him as an office. Here he interviewed his clients and pursued those studies in theology and metaphysics which were his delight to the close of his life. In 1787 Simeon Strong was appointed a member of a committee to build a new meeting house on the hill. Having served the town acceptably in the General Court, he was elected to the Senate, and in 1800 was appointed Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.

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Captain Lombard House (1767)

by Dan//Amherst, Colonial, Houses

Enfield was one of the Massachusetts towns that was flooded in the 1930s to create the Quabbin Reservoir. Many people and about a dozen houses and reused parts of houses were relocated to Amherst by the Gass family of builders. One of these was the c. 1767 Cape Cod-style Captain Lombard House. In 1817, it was the home of Captain Lombard, who shipped cargo out of Boston. The house was moved by builder Robert Gass to its current address at 152 Triangle Street in Amherst, where he he presented it to his new wife as a wedding gift in 1939. They resided there until 1993, when they settled in Florida.

David Boyce House (1782)

by Dan//Colonial, Houses, Salem

The David Boyce House, at 7 Lynn Street in Salem, was built in 1782. As mentioned in “Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolution,” in The Essex Antiquarian, Vol. XI (1907),

David Boyce, cordwainer and shoemaker, lived in Salem as early as 1777; married Hannah Lang of Salem July 27, 1777; she was his wife in 1789, and was dead in 1825; he died in Salem Aug. 20, 1838, apparently leaving no issue.

He must have lived in Salem before then, because the sign on his house indicates that he participated in Leslie’s Retreat in 1775 and, according to Charles M. Endicott in his Account of Leslie’s Retreat at the North Bridge in Salem, on Sunday Feb’y 26, 1775 (1856), when the British regulars were approaching,

To remove as many of the guns as the time would permit beyond the reach of the troops, and to a place of safety, appeared the universal determination of the people. Mr. David Boyce, who lived in a house adjoining the North Church, is remembered to have been seen hurrying away with his team, and all the truckmen of the town were upon the spot without delay.

Beckford-Whipple House (1739)

by Dan//Colonial, Colonial Revival, Houses, Salem

Built perhaps as early as 1739, the Beckford-Whipple House, at 2 Andover Street in Salem, was later significantly altered. In 1739, John and Rebecca Beckford deeded the house to their son, John Jr., who next left the house to his son Ebenezer in 1788. Ebenezer was probably the owner (1788-1816) who enlarged the house around 1804. The Whipple family owned the house for about a century starting in 1826. The present front facade and side porch are turn-of-the-century modifications in the Colonial Revival style.

Ambrose Gale House (1663)

by Dan//Colonial, Houses, Marblehead

The Ambrose Gale House, 17 Franklin Street in Marblehead, is considered to be the oldest surviving house in town. The house was built around 1663 by Ambrose Gale (1631-1708), a fisherman who served as first selectman, testified in the Salem Witch Trials, and owned land that later became Fort Sewall. There are other properties in Marblehead associated with Ambrose Gale, including a c.1700 house on Wadden Court. The house on Franklin Street now has sash windows, instead of the original casement windows.

Mason-Roberts-Colby House (1768)

by Dan//Colonial, Houses, Salem

The Mason-Roberts-Colby House is a Georgian Colonial residence at the corner of Federal Street and Federal Court in Salem. The house has an attached Beverley jog to the right of the front facade. Built in 1768 for Capt. Jonathan Mason, the house was originally located where the Forrester-Peabody House (1818) stands today on Washington Square North, but it was moved by a team of sixty oxen to make way for the newer building. The move was supervised by William Roberts, a mason, who would later build the East India Marine Hall and St. Peter’s Church. His descendants then owned the home for many years.