HISTORIC HOMES
OF NEW ENGLAND
HISTORIC HOMES OF
NEW ENGLAND
BY
MARY H. NORTHEND
AUTHOR OF "COLONIAL HOMES AND THEIR FURNISHINGS"
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS
BOSTON
LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY
1914
Copyright, 1914,
By Little, Brown, and Company.
THIS BOOK
IS DEDICATED TO
THE BEST OF MOTHERS
PREFACE
The study of old houses grows in interest with each additional discoveryof good material, such as can be found in the old New England towns andcities, more especially those along the seacoast. The preservation ofthese old houses has done much to give us correct ideas of theinteriors, though many of these, with the change of owners, have beenstripped of their colonial furnishings.
Most of the houses that are shown in this book are private homes whichhave been opened by the owners to allow pictured representations ofcorrect ancestral furnishing. Houses such as these possess the greatestcharm—ancestral homes that have descended from generation to generationin the same family since their founding.
It has been a great pleasure to be allowed to visit these old mansions,which show wonderful staircases, richly carved mantels, and colonialwindows, each one of which is an architectural gem. Through picturedhomes like these one is given a deeper interest in the early life of ourcountry and realizes more than ever before what the colonial periodstood for in home building.[Pg viii]
I wish to acknowledge the kindness of my many friends in helping me tomake this book possible, particularly Mrs. Charles M. Stark ofDunbarton, New Hampshire, for use of the old Stark mansion; the ColonialDames of Massachusetts, for allowing correct representations in picturesof the Quincy Mansion; the New Hampshire Society of the Sons ofCincinnati, for the use of the Ladd-Gilman House; Miss Caroline O.Emmerton of Salem, for permission to show the historic House of SevenGables; the Historical Society of Marblehead, for the use of the LeeMansion; the Medford Daughters of the Revolution, for the old RoyallHouse; the Dalton Club of Newburyport, who have thrown open theirclub-house to be pictured; Mrs. Jacob C. Rogers of Boston and Peabody;Mr. Jacob C. Peabody of Danvers; as well as many others, including Mr.John Pickering of Salem, who have allowed me access to their houses.
We of New England are deeply interested in our historic homes, and it isto the lover of the colonial that I wish to show by picture and text thewonderful old mansions that are