Tag: Gambrel

Pliny Freeman House (1815)

by Dan//Houses, Sturbridge, Vernacular

The Pliny Freeman Farmhouse at Old Sturbridge Village was built elsewhere in Sturbridge by Chester Belknap between 1812 and 1815. It is named for Pliny Freeman, who bought the property in 1828 (his third in town) and spent 23 years there. He and his wife Delia Marsh had seven children, most of whom were grown by 1828 and most of whom eventually migrated westward. He sold the farm in 1851 and went to live with his daughter Delia until his death in 1855. The Freeman House was condemned by the Massachusetts highway department and moved to Old Sturbridge Village in 1950 (and relocated again in the Village in 1956). Today, it is surrounded by farm fields and historic outbuildings which collectively depict the life and work on an early-nineteenth century New England farm.

12 State Street, Marblehead (1747)

by Dan//Colonial, Commercial, Houses, Marblehead

According to the sign on the house at 12 State Street in Marblehead, the structure was built in 1747 by Captain Alexander Watts. From 1776 to 1803, it was owned by John Adams, fisherman and mariner, who also kept a shop in the building. The shop was continued until 1842 by his daughters, Mary and Miriam. From 1845 to 1891, the building was a restaurant, operated by John Fisher. In 1910, J.O.J. Frost, noted Marblehead folk artist, opened a bakery in the building, which has continued to house various businesses over the years. It was restored in 1988.

Thomas Bodkin House (1729)

by Dan//Colonial, Houses, Marblehead

The Thomas Bodkin House is at 6 Union Street in Marblehead. In its earliest form, it was a gambrel-roofed house, built in 1729 by Thomas Bodkin, a brewer and merchant, around the time of his marriage to Sarah Rhodes. His brewery was located in a separate building behind the house. Bodkin lived in Marblehead until 1748. The house was later owned by Capt. Benjamin Hind who, around 1765, connected the brewery with the main house, which he also enlarged. Hind was responsible for laying out Union Street, which had previously been a cart path.

General Israel Putnam House (1648)

by Dan//Colonial, Danvers, Houses

The earliest (rear) section of the Putnam House in Danvers was built in 1648 by Lt. Thomas Putnam. The house would go on to be the home of twelve generations of the Putnam family. During the Salem witchcraft trials, Joseph Putnam, who spoke out against the ongoing hysteria, lived on the property. Joseph’s son, Israel Putnam, for whom it’s now known, was born in the house in 1718. General Israel Putnam was a famous colonial officer and one of the primary figures at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775. In the 1850s, Daniel Putnam operated a shoe-making business in the house and in the twentieth century, the family ran a candy and ice cream shop next door called the Putnam Pantry. A number of additions were made to the house over the years, including the eighteenth-century gambrel-roofed section that is now the front facade. The Putnam family gave the house to the Danvers Historical Society in 1991.

Stephen Fitch House (1737)

by Dan//Colonial, Houses, Sturbridge

Stephen Fitch built a house in Windham, Connecticut in 1737. The house was later expanded in two or three stages, when an extended ell was added to the rear. In 1939, the Fitch House was acquired by Old Sturbridge Village and moved to Sturbridge the following year to become the museum’s first exhibit building. Today, the house is furnished with reproductions that visitors can touch. It is presented as the home of a successful country printer.