Colonial Homes and Their FurnishingsNorthend, Mary Harrod
History
Colonial Homes and Their Furnishings
Northend, Mary Harrod
Architecture, Colonial; Furniture -- United States
Typical of the wooden mansion type, that succeeded in favor the
gambrel-roofed dwellings, is the house now known as the Endicott house,
at Danvers, Massachusetts. This building, constructed about 1800, was
purchased about 1812 by Captain Joseph Peabody, a Salem merchant, and
grandfather of the present owner, as a place of refuge for himself and
family during the embargo. In design, it is most imposing, and the front
now shows a wide veranda, with the entrance dignified by a
porte-cochère, supported by high columns, between each two of which a
great bay tree is set. Sweeps of smooth lawn afford an attractive
setting, and great trees, here and there, bestow protecting shade. The
dwelling is surrounded by beautiful gardens, the most interesting from a
historic point of view being the old-fashioned posy plot laid out at the
time of the erection of the house.
[Illustration: PLATE III.--Middleton House, Bristol, R. I. Built about
1808.]
Not unlike in type to this fine home is "Hey Bonnie Hall" in Rhode
Island, the residence of the Misses Middleton. Built in 1808, it stands
to-day in all its original beauty, the pure white of its exterior
admirably set off by the great green sweeps of sward, dotted with fine
trees, that surround it on all sides. It was erected from plans of
Russell Warren, who designed the White House at Washington, and it is
renowned not only for its beautiful colonial architecture, but also for
the wonderful collection of old-time furniture and objects of art that
it contains.
In type, it is very similar to a Maryland manor, with projecting wings,
the service portion in a separate building connected with the main house
by a covered passage, after the Southern fashion. In this passage is the
well room, so called from the fact that a well of pure spring water is
located here. In length the house is one hundred and forty feet, its
front just enough broken to avoid monotony, and its spaciousness
affording an air of comfort. Two Corinthian columns, as high as the
house itself, support the roof over the entrance porch, and on either
side are well-protected verandas, overlooking beds of old-fashioned
flowers and smooth stretches of sward. In front lies the harbor, and
beyond is the picturesque town of Bristol, affording a most pleasing
prospect.
[Illustration: PLATE IV.--Indian Hill Farm, West Newbury, Mass. Begun
soon after 1650.]
Unlike these latter-day types, in fact unlike any set design, is the
low, rambling house at West Newbury, Massachusetts, known as Indian
Hill, and so called from the location that it occupies. In appearance,
this dwelling is most picturesque, resembling in design a castle, and it
is as historic as it is interesting. The site that it occupies is the
last reservation of the Indians in the neighborhood, the land having
been sold by Old Tom, the Indian chieftain, to the town, and the deed of
the sale being still preserved by the present owners.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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