Old House Blog

Farmer-Colson House // 1803

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A fine example of a Federal style brick-ender, the Farmer-Colson House in North Billerica is a stately and well-proportioned residence of its type in Massachusetts that has been lovingly preserved inside and out for over 200 years. The house was built in 1803 by Oliver Farmer (1760-1839) on land he acquired from his wife, Hannah’s father. The house was later inherited by Oliver and Hannah’s daughter, Rachel, and her husband Israel Colson. Israel Colson arrived in the mill village in about 1830 from Rhode Island and was a farmer by trade but became engaged in the development of the locks for the Middlesex Canal on the Concord River in the village. Architecturally, the house retains its symmetrical facade with center entrance adorned by a fanlight transom and sidelights, massive end chimneys, and an attached barn/stable.

Dr. Bowers House // 1804

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An excellent example of a Federal style country mansion, the Dr. Bowers House sits on the edge of the Town Common in Billerica, Massachusetts, retains its original form and architectural features which set it above many other residences of its period in town. The mansion was built in 1804 for Doctor William Bowers (1744-1820) and is square in plan with five bays on each side and brick end walls. The roof features a large monitor and massive chimneys extending from the rooms below. Formal entrances are located on both street-facing elevations, with the side door likely originally serving as an entrance to the doctor’s home office.

Manning Manse // 1696

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The town of Billerica was originally settled by colonists in 1640, but the area west of the Concord River was not settled until after 1690. This saltbox Colonial house built around 1696 is believed to be the oldest house in town west of the river. The residence was built by Samuel Manning (1644-1711) as his homestead. Between 1752 and 1800, the Manning family operated a tavern out of the rear portion of the house. In the later years of the 18th century by the family of William Manning, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, who after the war, began to believe that his military service meant little to the American ruling class. He wrote the anti-Federalist ‘The Key of Liberty” in 1798, arguing that the goal of the “Few” was to distress and force the “Many” into being financially dependent on them, creating a continued cycle of dependence to the elite class and government. In the late 19th century, this old saltbox Colonial house began to deteriorate, until the 1890s, when descendant of its original owner, and landscape architect,  Warren H. Manning, spearheaded family efforts to restore the property. As a prominent landscape architect, Manning purchased not just the house, but the surrounding lands that formed the basis of Manning State Forest, protecting both. Manning conducted a carefully documented restoration of the house in 1899, and made it his summer home. A family association was eventually formed to take over the property, which leases the old home to a local pub and restaurant. The house faces south, away from the street and the kitchen ell off the side of the house does detract from the building, but it remains a significant early building from the settlement of Billerica.

Holmes W. Smith House // c.1835

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The architecturally distinguished Holmes Smith House on South Summer Street in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, showcases the range in which the Greek Revival style could showcase whimsy and unique architectural details from the typical side-hall gable-end form seen all over New England. The house appears to date from the mid 1830s with its strong, symmetrical facade of flushboard siding, its three bays divided with paneled pilasters, and elaborate parapet containing a central dormer and arched fan motifs. The house was originally owned by Capt. Holmes Wass Smith (1798-1849) and his wife, Sophia (Coffin) Smith and later in the 19th and early 20th centuries by members of the Pease family. The residence is now a summer home and has been thoughtfully preserved as one of the most excellent and unique examples of its style on Martha’s Vineyard. 

Coffin-Dunham House // c.1682

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John Coffin (1647-1711) was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and later moved to Nantucket with his father finding work as a blacksmith. John moved to Edgartown (Martha’s Vineyard) in 1682, continuing his profession there as the island’s premier blacksmith. Soon after arriving, John Coffin and his wife, Deborah, built a small residence and blacksmith shop, here on South Water Street, which later became this stunning property with later additions and alterations. The construction of the original section is said to be built of timber infilled with brick, a luxury but also a necessity to protect John Coffin’s house in case of a fire from his attached blacksmith shop. The business did well and John and Deborah moved to a new residence on North Water Street by the turn of the 18th century. This property overlooking the harbor was later occupied and expanded by various artisans, including Elijah Dunham, a shoemaker, in 1792. It was likely under Dunham’s ownership that the house was expanded to its present two-story form with telescoping ells. More recently, the Coffin-Dunham House, one of the oldest extant buildings on the island, was thoughtfully renovated by Patrick Ahearn Architects.


Thaddeus Leavitt Jr. House // 1800

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One of the many grand homes on Main Street in Suffield is this Federal style home built in 1800 for a 21-year-old Thaddeus Leavitt. Like his father, Thaddeus was a merchant with a store in Suffield and . Immediately after the home was completed, Thaddeus got married and moved into the home with his new wife, Jemima Loomis. The home was altered in the 1850s with Italianate features including a belvedere and bay windows, which lasted into the 20th century. Since then, the home was restored back to its original Federal style.

Gay Mansion // 1795

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In 1795, Ebenezer King Jr. (1762-1824) bought 26 acres of land on Main Street in Suffield, Connecticut, to build this stately manse. He at the time was at the height of his prosperity and lived lavishly from his new mansion until he sold his property in 1811. King’s estate was purchased by William Gay (1767-1844), a prominent lawyer and the son of Ebenezer Gay, who had been the longtime pastor of the Congregational church and lived nearby. Aside from his law practice, William Gay was also the postmaster of the town for 35 years, and for much of that time the post office was located here in his living room. The home remained in the Gay Family for generations until it was eventually purchased by Suffield Academy for use as the headmaster’s home. The symmetrical Federal style residence features a five-by-five-bay square form with center entrance. The facade is dominated by an elaborate Federal style entry with fanlight transom and Palladian stairhall window on the second floor, which is mimicked with a smaller version in the gabled peak at the roof.

Williston Saddle Shop // 1776

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Before the invention of the automobile, horseback was the most effective way to get around. In nearly every town in New England, a saddler would make harnesses, straps, and saddles from leather in small, vernacular shops like this structure in Suffield, Connecticut. The Williston Saddle Shop is said to have been built in 1776 by Consider Williston (1739-1794), who served as a Lieutenant in the American Revolution, and is sited on the town’s iconic Main Street, which is lined by stately homes, churches, and institutional buildings of all eras. The vernacular Williston Saddle Shop retains its unique character, even since it was converted to a private residence.

Dr. Asaph Bissell House // c.1835

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Dr. Asaph Bissell was born into the wealthy Bissell family which started here when John Bissell, the progenitor of the family in America, came from Somerset, England, and landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1628. He became one of the settlers of Windsor, CT. His descendant, Asaph Bissell (1791-1850) became one of Yale’s earliest medical graduates and built this stately Greek Revival style home on Main Street in Suffield, Connecticut, where he practiced medicine. Dr. Bissell often made house calls from his home right on Main Street until his death in 1850, after which, it was inherited by his eldest son, Charles Bissell. The house is Greek Revival in style with its entrance on the side elevation sheltered by a Classical porch, all facing southwards. The street-facing facade is four bays with large corner pilasters, a massive entablature, and pedimented gable-end with fanlight set within it.

Charles Shepard House // 1824

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The Charles Shepard House on Main Street in Suffield, Connecticut, is a stately and well-proportioned Federal period residence that contributes to the iconic streetscape of historic homes that have been lovingly preserved by centuries of ownership. The residence was built in 1824 for newlyweds Charles Shepard (1792-1867) and Cordelia King of the wealthy local King Family of Suffield. Charles was a local attorney who practiced in town for a few years until he moved to Hartford following the death of Cordelia in 1825, soon after this house was completed. The large residence was later owned by William Henry Fuller a local businessman and politician. The house features larger first-floor double-hung windows, fan motifs in the flushboarded gable ends, dentilled cornice, and early 20th century rear addition and entry portico on the facade.

Rowe House // 1767

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One of the older homes on Main Street in Suffield, Connecticut, the Moses Rowe House was built in 1767 was later “modernized” to its present appearance. The house was constructed as a two-story Georgian home with minimal detailing, as the family home of Moses Rowe (1733-1799), his wife, and nine children. According to historical maps of the area, the home appears to have been purchased by Horace Sheldon, who in the 1830s, modified the home in the Greek Revival style, increasing the height of the home, adding side porches and the entablature at the roofline.

Nash-Wood House // 1858

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The finest Gothic Revival style residence in Milford, Massachusetts, can be found tucked away on Claflin Street, and it features the iconic hallmarks of the style. With its steeply pitched roof, blind lancet windows, drip moulds at the windows, and intricate barge boards with hanging pendants, the Nash-Wood House does not disappoint! The residence was built in 1858 and owned at different times by men who worked in the local shoe and boot manufacturing companies in Milford; William Nash and Peleg E. Wood. The property, with its playful paint colors, has been lovingly preserved my subsequent owners.

Benjamin D. Godfrey House and Stable // 1854

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Benjamin Davenport Godfrey (1813-1888) was a wealthy boot and shoe manufacturer and inventor who built this stately mansion and detached stable in Milford, Massachusetts. The residence was built in 1854 in the Italianate style and was once one of the largest properties in the community, a true show of his success and wealth. Benjamin Godfrey would eventually retire and move to Newton, selling the property to Frank Harvey, a medical doctor, who resided here and operated a private hospital next door. The property would sell again in 1944 and has operated as a funeral home ever-since. The stately residence and stable echo similar architectural similarities, including the boxy forms, hipped roof, flushboard siding, and bracketed cornice and windows.

Chapin – Reed Octagon House // 1854

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One of the rare examples of an intact Octagon house in New England, the Joel Chapin House in Milford, Massachusetts, is the only of its kind in the town. The octagonal brick residence was built for Joel Chapin (1822-1864), a produce and meat dealer in town, who resided here until his death. By the end of the 19th century, the house was owned by Anna Jourdain, who married James E. Reed, an early African-American photographer based in New Bedford They resided in the octagon house and their family members owned the property for nearly 100 years.

Henry E. Fales Mansion // 1866

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The Henry E. Fales Mansion sits prominently on Walnut Street in Milford, Massachusetts, as an intact Second Empire style residence with symmetrical facade and form. The house was built in 1866 and owned by Henry E. Fales (1837-1897) an attorney and state legislator who was heavily engaged in town affairs. Before the home was completed, Henry’s wife, Violet, died unexpectedly and he remained here until his second marriage to Clara Hayward. The Fales Mansion has a notable mansard roof with belvedere, front gambrel gable with ocular window, and window hoods. The property is in need of some work, but retains nearly all of its original detailing.