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.

Wheeler House, South Natick (1831)

by Dan//Greek Revival, Houses, Natick

Moses Eames built the Greek Revival house at 4 Pleasant Street in South Natick in the 1830s, on land he had acquired in 1831. Eames later built a larger home next door on Pleasant Street in 1839. In 1845, he sold the earlier house to Lucy Morse and ten years later it was purchased by Aaron Wheeler. It remained in the Wheeler family until about 1918 and has since had other owners. The house briefly served as a restaurant in the late-1950s.

Cooley-Eveleth House (1827)

by Dan//Federal, Houses, Longmeadow

After his first home in Longmeadow burned, Calvin Cooley built a new brick house on the same site, 418 Longmeadow Street, in 1827. Calvin Cooley’s eldest son, James, became a lawyer and in 1826 was sent by Henry Clay, president John Quincy Adams’ Secretary of State, to Lima, Peru as charge d’affaires, where he died several months later. Another son, Alford Cooley, married Caroline Bliss Saxton Cooley in 1833. Their daughter, Caroline L. Cooley Eveleth, later lived in the house with her husband. The Cooley-Eveleth House has a rear wing added in the 1930s.

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.