Historic Doorways of Old Salem

CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS

HISTORIC DOORWAYS OF OLD SALEM

CHAPTER I

CHAPTER II

OLD SALEM AS A CENTER OF COLONIAL DOORWAYS

Old Salem, Massachusetts, has long been the Mecca of all pilgrims who seek what is purest and most distinctive in Colonial architecture; for here as nowhere else is to be found a collection of old-time houses bearing the stamp of those traits of simplicity, dignity, reserve, and permanence which we believe to be most typical of the character of the American people.

The explanation of this fact is found in a number of circumstances. First, in the location of the town, which led to its early importance as a shipping center and port of entry; second, in the quality of its settlers, who were of earnest purpose and serious determination in the business of home-making; third, in their continuous intercourse with the mother country, resulting in a familiarity with her own architectural renaissance during the period involved, from 1626, the date of the founding of Salem, up to the year 1818, when the Colonial vogue began its decline and the Greek style gradually took its place; fourth, in the occupation of the people, which became more and more commercial, their merchant flags appearing in every harbor in the world, leading to increasing wealth, a familiarity with comfort and style, together with the means of securing and maintaining them; and last, but by no means least in importance, in the presence in Old Salem of that remarkable man Samuel McIntire, who as designer, builder, and cunning craftsman in wood, for a period of thirty years, from 1782 to the date of his untimely death in 1811, so guided the architectural taste of the Salem people, and so contributed to their building activities by the ingenious and beautiful productions of his own hands, as to leave upon the town a stamp of genius hardly paralleled in the world.

The doorways and porches of the loveliest old Salem homes owe so much either directly or indirectly to the influence of McIntire, that he might almost be termed the architect of Salem beautiful—as for over a quarter of a century he was its master-craftsman, working with an originality of conception, an ingenuity of combination, a freedom from hampering tradition, yet with a restraint and refinement of taste, which render his productions individual, beautiful, and noble, the true notes of the Colonial style at its very best.

CHAPTER III

THE EVOLUTION OF THE SALEM DOORWAY

The Salem doorway, like all institutions, architectural or otherwise, was the fruit of a gradual process of evolution or development from simple forms to those more elaborate and complete, and kept pace more or less evenly in this process with the changing character of the buildings of which it formed a part. Almost two hundred years elapsed between the hasty erection of the first log cabins at Naumkeag in 1626 to the culmination of the Colonial vogue in 1818. Yet, two hundred years is a very brief time in which to complete a process of evolution such as this—comparing the rude aperture closed by its swinging shield of slabs, which formed the doorway of the earliest Salem dwelling, with the ornate, dignified, and beautiful entrance to a typical Salem home at the expiration of the period, with classic columns, fluted pilasters, carved rosettes and festoons, spreading fanlight with its spider-web tracery of leading, and paneled door set off by latch and knocker of shining brass. The truth is that this was a process of assisted evolution; for skilled English craftsmen, workers in wood and in iron were among the earliest settlers at Salem; they were familiar with the architectural forms and designs of the homeland; and working in the tractable material of white pine, they reproduced with increased effect the patterns which in the old country were necessarily wrought in stone.

The business of ship-building, rapidly increasing in the port, gave occupation to large numbers of carvers in wood, who produced ornate decorations in the captains’ cabins, and the famous figureheads which graced the bows of the old-time clippers. At off-seasons, these craftsmen found occupation in the builders’ trade; and thus in many ways the evolution of the ornamental doorway and porch was hastened.

It is possible to roughly divide the architecture of Old Salem into four or perhaps five general periods, which are determined by the type of dwelling most frequently erected during the time. As a matter of fact, these periods blend or overlap so that there is no sharp and distinct demarcation between them; it is sufficient to say that the doorways of Old Salem took form and character in keeping with the changing type of dwelling, simple with the simplicity of the structure, becoming more elaborate as the house became more ambitious and pretentious, and reaching their climax in ornateness with the three-story square mansions of brick which characterized the closing years of the Colonial period.

The earliest houses at Salem were, of course, mere cabins of logs, roughly and hastily built, utility being the only consideration. They were for shelter from the weather, and for protection against enemies, whether beasts or men. The doorway, therefore, was a mere opening in the log wall, which could be barred at a moment’s notice, converting the little hut into a sturdy fortress. In the first rude architecture of the colonists no thought was given—for in the exigencies of the situation none could be given—to style and attractiveness, utility being, through stern necessity, the prime factor in the construction of their simple homes.

A love of beauty, however, was by no means wanting; and this soon became evident in the beginning of decoration, simple enough, it is true, as was natural, but showing a desire to make the doorway, always architecturally speaking the keynote of the dwelling’s exterior, as attractive as possible.

The first period of Salem’s architectural development, passing over the very earliest years as of little or no value, was characterized by the construction of gabled houses of various kinds, from the simple story and a half cottage to more complex and rambling structures, of which the famous ‘House of the Seven Gables’ is a conspicuous example. Others are the Deliverance Parkman house and the Governor Bradstreet mansion (1638) pictures of which may be seen in the Essex Institute at Salem; the beginnings of the ornamental doorway are to be found in both these instances, recessed somewhat to afford protection from the weather, and possessing an arched lintel of the characteristic Elizabethan type. The door of the Bradstreet mansion is ornamented by a lozenge pattern, corresponding with the diamond panes of the casement windows, the intersections of the pattern being marked by large-headed nails. The trim of the early doorways was simple in the extreme, the architrave and pediment tentatively emerging as though feeling their way. Some of the oldest houses of the second, or lean-to period, possess enclosed porches with gable roofs and small sashes in the sides for lighting the dark entry.

But with the advent of the gambrel-roofed house, an adaptation of the French Mansard, about the beginning of the eighteenth century, Salem doorways become at once important in architectural value. Pilaster and architrave, pediment and column, come boldly to the front and assume their rightful place. Top-light and side-light come into general use. With the appearance of the square wooden house of three stories, soon after the Revolution, these historic doorways and porches may be said to reach almost their full development, the genius of Samuel McIntire carrying this on to its peak, the full fruition of his work being seen in the entrances to the red-brick mansions of the beginning of the nineteenth century, against whose mellow background the pure white classic forms of porch and doorway stand out in striking and delightful contrast. After 1818, the Colonial style began to suffer its decline.

CHAPTER IV

THE DOOR ITSELF

The Salem Colonial door, while an integral part of the entrance, possesses nevertheless such distinctive characteristics as to deserve a chapter of its own.

The log cabins of Naumkeag, as has been seen, had primitive doors of vertical slabs hung on iron strap hinges and backed perhaps by a curtain of skins to keep out the draft. These doors were ‘battened’ within by transverse pieces at top and bottom, the whole fastened solidly together by spikes clinched on the inside, or perhaps by means of wooden pins. A heavy oaken bar falling into sockets on either doorpost further barricaded the entrance at need.

With improvement in the type of Salem houses, the batten door still for a time persisted, though in a more finished form, and with some attempt at ornamentation. A notable example of this later batten door is found in the Rebecca Nurse house at Danvers, formerly a part of Salem. This house was built in 1636, the door being embellished with regular rows of nails so arranged as to form a diamond pattern, the outline of which is scratched upon the planks. Another example is found in one of the entrances to the famous ‘House of the Seven Gables’ in Salem, known through Hawthorne’s novel by that name.

THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES
Batten Door

THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES

The so-called ‘Dutch door’ often appears in Old Salem houses. Made in two sections, so that the upper half might be opened for light and ventilation, while the lower remained closed for protection against vagrant children or animals, it afforded special advantages of convenience, and was frequently accompanied by attractive architectural embellishments. An old example of this type of door is to be found in the Narbonne house at 71 Essex Street, Salem, built about the middle of the seventeenth century, this door being in four sections instead of two. Sometimes a blind, made to cover the upper opening as a protection against insects or to keep out the glare of the sun, and hinged at the top so that it might be fastened up out of the way, accompanied these Dutch doors.

The typical Salem door, however, was in one piece, set in a frame and ornamented with panels. These panels were usually six in number, two near the top, nearly square in shape, the others arranged in pairs at the center and lower part of the door, these four being of practically the same size, narrow rectangles set vertically. Doors with less than six panels are seldom though occasionally found. A few are in existence having as many as eight panels, a notable example being that in the front entrance of the Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols house at 80 Federal Street. Panels are of various types, sunken and beveled or moulded and raised, with or without beading.

In some doorways of unusual width, the door was made with double leaves—and now and then with three leaves, two only of which were ordinarily in use, the third being opened upon special occasions. An example of this latter is seen in the Pickman-Shreve-Little house at 27 Chestnut Street, built in 1816.

In color, Salem doors were usually painted white. Only rarely is one found which is stained instead of painted. With the increasing elaborateness of doorways and porches, in which so much pure white was necessarily used, doors were often for the sake of contrast painted dark green—an effective background for the brightly polished brass knocker and latch. Very rarely was the entrance-door of mahogany. A notable example is on the Andrew-Safford house, 13 Washington Square, built in 1818 by John Andrew, uncle of War Governor John A. Andrew. This beautiful six-panel door had been discarded, and lay forgotten for a hundred years amongst the lumber of the cellar, where it was discovered by accident. Rescued and restored, it now fittingly adorns the entrance of this fine old brick mansion—at the time when it was built probably the most expensive private residence in New England.

It has been said above that the typical Salem door is solid. Very early in the history of the Colony, with the advent of square-paned sash, the entire upper half of a door was sometimes replaced by one of these sashes. A door in the ‘House of the Seven Gables’ possesses this feature, as did the house of Lewis Hunt, which was built about 1698 and razed in 1863. To admit a little light into the tiny entries of the early houses, sometimes the two upper panels of the door were replaced by panes of glass. Top-lights—narrow windows running across just above the door—soon followed, and these again were improved upon by the introduction of the beautiful and elaborate fanlights, with their delicate leaden tracery, balanced by side-lights of similar design, which so artistically embellish the doorways of the best period of Salem architecture, and in the designing of which Samuel McIntire especially distinguished himself.

The earliest Salem door, as we have seen, was fastened by means of a bar, or, if it possessed perhaps a rude wooden latch, this was operated by means of the latch-string, which by day hung outside through a hole in the door, and was drawn in at night. ‘The latch-string is out’ has become a proverbial expression denoting the spirit of hospitality. The oaken bar was followed by the huge bolt of brass or iron, this again by clumsy locks with enormous keys. The latch-string was supplanted by the quaint thumb-latch, and very late in the Colonial period glass door-knobs and bell-pulls made their appearance. Outside the door, double blinds with shutters faced on the inner side with screen cloth were commonly used. Thus the tiny stuffy entries and hallways managed to receive something of the breath of life.

Too many old Salem doorways, beautiful otherwise, have been spoiled by the addition of modern ugly or inappropriate doors. It is to be hoped that a revival of the old-time Colonial taste may correct this fault.

CHAPTER V — The Rebecca Nurse House — The John Ward House — The Tucker-Rice House — The Ropes Memorial — The Lindall-Barnard-Andrews House — The Cabot-Endicott-Low House — The Pickering House — The Poynton House — The Eden-Brown House — ‘ The Lindens ’ — The Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols House — The Hosmer-Townsend-Waters House — Assembly Hall — The Boardman House — ‘ Oak Hill ’ — The Kimball House — The Cook-Oliver House — The George M. Whipple House — The Nathan Robinson-Little House — The Dodge-Shreve House — The White-Lord House — The Salem Club — The Baldwin-Lyman House — The Andrew-Safford House — The Gardner-White-Pingree House — The House of the Seven Gables — The J. Foster Smith House — The Grace Machado House — The Stearns House — The Timothy Orne House — The Crowninshield-Devereux-Waters House — The Mansfield-Bolles House — The Richard Derby House — The Hodges-Peele-West House — The Silsbee-Mott House — The Hodges-Webb-Meek House — The Pickman-Shreve-Little House — The Home for Aged Women — The Home for Aged Men — The Benjamin Pickman House — The Elias Hasket Derby House — The Neal-Kittridge-Rogers House — The Arthur West House — The Hoffman-Simpson House — The Doyle Mansion — Derby Street and Chestnut Street — Famous Names in Salem — Palladian Windows

OLD SALEM HOUSES AND THEIR DOORWAYS

THE REBECCA NURSE HOUSE

Belonging to the earliest period of Salem architectural history is an old house standing in what is now the town of Danvers, originally a part of Salem, as were also the present towns of Marblehead, Beverly, and Peabody. This house is usually called the Rebecca Nurse house, for the reason that Rebecca, the wife of Francis Nurse, who lived here at the time of the infamous witchcraft delusion, was one of the victims of the cruel fanaticism of the Court, and condemned by the judges to be hanged as a witch, although the jury had rendered a verdict in her favor. Architectural interest centers in the fascinating batten door, with its pattern of diagonal squares scratched upon the planks, studded at the points of intersection with round-headed nails, and adorned by a heavy handle or door-pull of iron. The sill is a simple heavy plank and the casing absolutely plain. Above the doorway, and several inches off center, is a unique and curious sun-dial, on which the shadow of an iron rod, placed slantingly upon a background of plank resembling the heavy square shutter of a window, falls along carved lines radiating from the center and marked at their extremities with Roman numerals indicating the hours from five to two. On the upper edge of the sun-dial are carved the initials ‘T. B.’ and between them the date ‘1636.’ Townsend Bishop, the original owner of the house, built it in the above year. Later the estate changed hands several times, being in turn the property of no lesser personages than Governor John Endicott, the son of the Governor, John Endicott, Jr., and the Reverend James Allen, pastor of the First Church in Boston. In 1692, from the curious doorway above described, with the inexorable shadow upon the sun-dial above it crawling slowly toward her hour of doom, brave Rebecca Nurse passed to her execution. In the dooryard one still sees the old-fashioned garden which she once tended, and just beyond is shown a solitary grave where she rests in peace—history having vindicated her in her steadfast declaration before her judges—‘I can say before my Eternal Father I am innocent, and God will clear my innocency.’

THE JOHN WARD HOUSE

In the picture, two Salem maids of Colonial times are shown gossiping at the huge door-stone of the lean-to of this interesting old house, built in 1684 and originally located at 38 St. Peter Street. The illustration is taken from the restored building as it now stands in the grounds of the Essex Institute in Salem. Fallen into neglect and disrepair, the old house once came to have a forlorn aspect. But it now presents a most attractive appearance, with its latticed casements, its huge central chimney-stack, its batten front door, and its cheerful surroundings of lawn and flowers.

The steep pitch of the roof and the overhang of the main second story are indications of the age of this fine old house. English cottages were commonly thatched, and a very steep pitch of the roof was necessary to carry off the water. For a considerable time after the founding of Salem, many houses were thatched; and even when the roofs began to be covered with shingles or tiles, habit still retained the steep slope from ridge to eaves. As to the overhang, tradition persists in declaring that the purpose of this was to provide floor loopholes through which a musket might be fired at Indians who had come too close to the building to be reached from openings in shutter or wall. This may possibly be true. But the overhang was quite common in Elizabethan dwellings in the old country; and builders may have used it here without conscious purpose, but simply from custom.

In the John Ward house, the main part was at one time used as a bakery. Our picture shows a window display in the lean-to addition, of apothecaries’ supplies on one side and on the other of striped candy in glass jars, and other unknown dainties, perhaps that flint-like rock candy imported by Salem merchants from the East, or the strange confections known as ‘Black Jacks’ and ‘Gibraltars,’ dear to the childish heart in early times. Other rooms both upstairs and down are furnished in Colonial style and contain interesting relics. The house is innocent of paint, inside and out, and takes its only color from the mellowing touch of weather without and of time within.

Altogether, with its gables, its lean-to, its batten door and lozenge casements, its overhang and its silvery weathered walls, the John Ward house presents a most interesting example of the Old Salem dwelling of the second period.

THE TUCKER-RICE HOUSE

The young Salem dames whom we saw at the doorway of the John Ward house a few moments ago, have apparently transferred themselves, by means of some witchcraft, from the seventeenth century, to which the Ward house belongs, to the beginning of the nineteenth, in which was built the Tucker-Rice house, upon the steps of which we now find them. They are still, however, in the garden of the Essex Institute, for this fine portico has been removed from its original location, on the house at 129 Essex Street, and brought here for preservation.

In changing hands in 1896, the Tucker-Rice house became subject to alterations which considerably detracted from its original character, architecturally speaking. The previous year, its classic porch had been pronounced by an eminent authority the best-proportioned porch in Salem. It had at the time, too, an ugly modern door, and the adjacent glasswork was not appropriate. In its present location, as we note in the photograph, the fanlights and side-lights are graceful and artistic in Colonial design, while the door itself presents a rare example of the three-piece pattern belonging to the proper period.

The porch itself, the work of Samuel McIntire, is in the semi-oval composite style. The tall, slender, fluted columns with their flanking pilasters seem almost to spring into the air, so light is the effect produced by their perfect proportions. The roof of the porch is borne aloft without a semblance of effort, while the easy grade of the stone steps with their wrought-iron railings provides a solid and handsome base for the whole.

Directly across the street from the Tucker-Rice house stands the Gardner-White-Pingree mansion, with a porch of similar design, without the fluting of the columns. This was erected in 1810, also the work of McIntire, perhaps his last, and considered the best of his brick houses.

THE ROPES MEMORIAL

At 318 Essex Street stands a complete and beautiful example of the Salem residence at its best, the house now known as the ‘Ropes Memorial,’ erected in 1719, and continuously occupied by successive generations of this famous family over a period of nearly a hundred and fifty years. The Honorable Nathaniel Ropes, Judge of the Superior and Probate Courts, and a stubborn Loyalist, and after him in regular descent four other Nathaniels, lived here from 1768 until 1893, when the last one died.

In 1912 a board of trustees, under the instructions by will of Mary Pickman Ropes and Eliza Orne Ropes, assumed the care of the house and its rich content of Colonial treasures, under the name of the ‘Ropes Memorial.’

As originally built, like so many dwellings of its period, the Ropes house stood close to the front of its lot. After the death of the fifth Nathaniel, it was moved back some distance from the street—the effect of the mellow brick walk, the richly carved and ornamented gate-posts, and the intervening lawn being greatly to enhance the dignified and simple beauty of the Ionic entrance with its six-paneled door.

CLOSER VIEW OF THE ROPES DOORWAY

This doorway was added in 1807. An original treatment of the fanlight and side-lights of leaded glass, which show a pattern of alternate ovals and circles, is to be noted. The supporting columns rest upon massive plinths of granite, lending an effect of solidity and permanence to the entire construction; the pure white of the woodwork being pleasantly relieved by the green shutters which back the side-lights.

Colonial hospitality took thought for the comfort of its guests even before they passed the hospitable threshold; and this is evidenced by the recession of the doorway in many old houses, so that visitors, lifting the heavy knocker to announce their arrival, and waiting for Abigail or Nancy to answer the summons, might find shelter under the broad lintel from searching east wind or pouring rain. The doorway of the Ropes house is of this type.

Tradition relates that in 1774 the Loyalist dwelling was attacked by a mob of patriotic enthusiasts. The death of the old judge, who at the time was lying upon a sick-bed, may have been expedited by the excitement of the occasion. Be that as it may, his end came on the day following.

THE LINDALL-BARNARD-ANDREWS HOUSE

Popular tradition has it that the unjust aggressions of Great Britain first met armed resistance in the Colonies at Lexington and Concord. But nearly two months previous to Paul Revere’s famous ride, on Sunday, February 26, 1775, British troops were reported approaching North Bridge at Salem, in search of cannon which were known to be concealed somewhere in the town. The Reverend Thomas Barnard, pastor of the Old North Church, was in his pulpit. To him appeared a breathless messenger: ‘The regulars are coming!’ From all directions the excited citizens flocked to the bridge, where the open draw frustrated the further advance of Colonel Leslie and his troops. Barnard, in the forefront, calmed his excited townsmen; Leslie was allowed to cross the bridge; but his search for the concealed guns proved fruitless and he retired discomfited to Boston.

At the time in question, the Reverend Mr. Barnard lived at 393 Essex Street, in the handsome mansion now known as the Lindall-Barnard-Andrews house. This was built in 1747 for Timothy Lindall, for several years Speaker of the House of Deputies. Much of the elaborate carving in the interior of this old dwelling is from the hand of Samuel McIntire, the famous architect and worker in wood.

The doorway of the Lindall house is almost sternly plain, the sole attempt at decoration being found in the fluting of the pilasters, repeated in the posts which flank the gateway, these also supporting interesting urns. Similar urns grace the posts at the gate of the Ropes Memorial, these being much more elaborate, though perhaps no more effective, than the ornaments at the Lindall house.

The style of this doorway is Doric, the pediment utterly without carving or ornament of any description. It possesses a unique feature in its door, the panels being seven in number instead of six, the extra one very narrow, and running horizontally across directly above the lower pair. A rectangular top-light with five square panes completes the fine Colonial ensemble.

THE CABOT-ENDICOTT-LOW HOUSE

Distinctive among Salem residences is the Cabot-Endicott-Low house at 365 Essex Street. It is clapboarded, but possesses white corner-boards which simulate the marble quoins used later in brick houses, which did not begin to appear in Salem until about 1800.

This house was built in 1748 by Joseph Cabot, the architect being unknown, though tradition attributes to his hand a number of other famous dwellings in Salem. It is universally considered to be a typical example of the best in Colonial architecture at the time when commercial prosperity was at its height. Unlike most of the large square houses of the period, it stands at some distance back from the street, this lending it through proper spacing additional charm. Its rooms are crowded with rare furniture and china, the latter brought home by famous Salem clippers from foreign parts over a century ago; and its garden is the finest in Salem. Once the home of six hundred to seven hundred varieties of tulips imported from Holland by its original owner, the garden is now largely given up to peonies, of which a thousand have been counted in bloom at one time.

The doorway of the Cabot house is a later addition, and its effect is marred by the presence of inappropriate doors. It possesses Doric pilasters, and the pediment is ornate with carving.

The Cabot house has many historic associations. Its original owner, Joseph S. Cabot, was Mayor of the town from 1843 to 1845. The Honorable William C. Endicott, Secretary of War under President Cleveland, and a Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court from 1873 to 1882, lived here for thirty years. Through this doorway entered as a guest the Right Honorable Joseph Chamberlain, who afterward married the daughter of his host. In 1890 General W. T. Sherman was entertained here. Later the house was bought by Daniel Low, the well-known silversmith, who occupied it until his death.

PORCH OPENING ON OLD-FASHIONED GARDENS ON THE PICKERING ESTATE

This ancient dwelling is said by many to be the oldest of all Salem houses. One of the first Colonists, John Pickering, built it in 1660. The Essex Institute shows an iron fire-back taken from the old house which bears this date.

The averting of bloodshed at North Bridge in February, 1775, has been mentioned above. Colonel Timothy Pickering, born in this house in 1745, was at that time on service with Continental troops, and remained actively engaged until after Yorktown. He achieved honorable distinction, first as Colonel, and later as Adjutant-General of the army. Returning from military service, he entered the doorway of this ancient house, soon to pass from it again as Representative and Senator. In Washington’s Cabinet he held office in three different capacities, and in all of them acquitted himself with credit—as Secretary of War, Secretary of State, and Postmaster-General. This record is hardly surpassed in American annals.

Colonel Pickering was interested also in other issues. He it was who led the schism which founded the North Church in Salem, as the result of differences in the Tabernacle Church. One imagines that he was versed in the classics as well, for John Pickering, his son, afterward became the well-known linguist and Greek lexicographer.

THE POYNTON HOUSE, KNOWN AS THE ‘PINEAPPLE HOUSE’
Built in 1750

In an old painting in the Essex Institute is shown the famous Governor Bradstreet mansion, with its numerous gables, its batten door flanked by curious latticed towers, and its lozenged windows. At the tip of each gable and tower perches a carved ornament in the shape of a pineapple, the ancient symbol of hospitality. Over the doorway of the Thomas Poynton house at 7 Brown Street Court, on a pedestal between the members of a broken arch pediment, was once to be seen a similar pineapple, most elaborately and delicately carved, and resplendent in its appropriate tints of red and green. Captain Poynton was a merchant, and some foreign port may have supplied this famous ornament, which for years lent its name to the ‘Pineapple House.’ The illustration shows the doorway in its original condition, though the door itself is modern. Note the cutting-out of the blinds, made necessary by the height of the pineapple.

Now removed for safe-keeping to the Essex Institute, this beautiful entrance has always attracted the attention of architects and connoisseurs. The simplicity of the fluted Doric pilasters leads the eye upward to a sudden surprise, albeit an agreeable one, in the unusual character of the decorations above. Altogether the effect is unique and charming, and is well brought out against the gray walls of the house itself.

THE EDEN-BROWN HOUSE

In 1762, Thomas Eden built a house at 40 Summer Street. In 1804 the original doorway was replaced by one designed and executed by the famous McIntire, possessing one unusual feature, the elliptical fanlight unaccompanied by other glasswork. The doorway is of simple design, showing plain Doric pilasters, over each of which appears a carved rosette or floret, with festooned drapery between. Once more, the use of modern doors lends an unpardonably discordant note to this otherwise artistic composition.

Much interesting history centers in the Eden-Brown house. Thomas Eden was the first signer of the roll of the famous Salem Marine Society, founded in 1766, membership in which was conditioned upon a man’s having sailed his ship at least around the Cape of Good Hope. The quality of Salem ship-masters is seen in the fact that eighteen charter members were thus enrolled at the first meeting. Robert Hooper, of Marblehead, was a partner of Eden in his commercial ventures, and was familiarly spoken of as ‘King’ Hooper because of his Royalist leanings.

How many vigorous and adventurous figures must have passed through the Eden-Brown doorway! ‘King’ Hooper himself, owner of a house at Marblehead and another at Danvers, the well-known ‘Lindens,’ occupied as a summer home by the Royal Governor Gage, the year before Lexington. Many a wealthy captain, perhaps, and trader to the East, who in the spirit of the bold motto on the Salem official seal, ‘Unto the utmost bounds of wealthy Ind,’ had driven his fifty-ton schooner across the mysterious ocean, returning laden with silks, rugs, and shawls, mulls and muslins, jade, crystal, spices, and if not, like the far-famed navies of Solomon, with ‘ivory, apes, and peacocks,’ at least with many a comical monkey and gaudy parrot—the latter commonly past-master in the use of a certain deep-sea vocabulary not to be repeated here.

Such cargoes made Salem owners wealthy, and paved the way for the erection of the spacious and dignified residences, with their noble pillars and pediments, so many of which are still standing to-day as a memorial of by-gone greatness.

‘THE LINDENS’

‘King’ Hooper, partner of Thomas Eden, as just stated above, beside his Marblehead home, had a fine residence at Danvers, once a part of Salem, which is one of the most pretentious of the time. Now called ‘The Lindens,’ it was built in 1754, the siding scored and beveled so as to present the appearance of granite blocks, a resemblance still further carried out in the gray paint of the surface and the white of the beveling. The doorway is of special dignity and beauty, two Corinthian columns supporting a large gable containing a window, which rises to the deck of the roof. Of similar appearance was the John Hancock house on Beacon Street, Boston, now destroyed.

At the time of his governorship of the Province in 1774, this handsome house was used by General Gage as a summer home. Colonel Leslie, commanding officer of the 64th Regulars opposed at North Bridge by the Salem citizens in February of the following year, pitched the tents of his regiment across the road. One may imagine how gay were the goings-on, as scarlet uniforms, rich with gold lace, passed in and out of the stately portal, through which might be heard the hum of conversation and the strains of music—for the British officers were good entertainers, and made the most of what society they had in a hostile environment.

It was perhaps during some such festivity that an indignant patriot fired a shot from his musket through the panel of the door—the hole being still visible where his messenger of protest made its entrance. ‘The Lindens’ was lately the home of Francis Peabody. It is now owned by Ward Thoran.

THE PIERCE-JOHONNOT-NICHOLS HOUSE

At 80 Federal Street, Salem, stands this fine old residence, frequently referred to as the best specimen of its kind now existing. It is the work of Samuel McIntire, the master-craftsman of Salem, and represents possibly the first of his efforts, as it is surely one of his best, although he was at the time only twenty-five years of age.

The house is square in shape, close to the sidewalk, with an L and stable in the rear. The front porch is of simple classic design, the architect having freely combined the Tuscan and the Doric, with unique effect. The door itself possesses the rare number of eight panels, with a graceful fanlight above. The approach to the steps is flanked by handsome gate-posts of the Tuscan order, surmounted by ornamental urns carved from a single block of wood.

At the side of the house, and serving as a carriage entrance, is an enclosed porch, similar in type to that at the front, and admirable in its effect upon the eye. This enclosed porch as a side-entrance is indeed characteristic of Old Salem houses—the particular one in question being of exceptional attractiveness. Oval side-windows afford light, and the door itself is of the correct ancient pattern.

Although dating from 1782, this old mansion is of no particular historical interest. It possesses, however, human interest of a genuine sort, drawn from the vicissitudes and disappointments, as well as the joys, of its successive tenants.

Jerathmiel Pierce, the original owner, was a wealthy merchant, successful in his ventures in foreign trade. To the wharf at the rear of his house came his returning ships, to discharge their cargoes at his warehouse, reached by a path through the garden. Financial reverses, however, came upon him; and in 1827 the property was acquired by George Johonnot. From the handsome doorway of his beloved home, where he had spent forty years of a happy life, went forth the broken old man to find shelter with George Nichols, his son-in-law, who had also suffered business reverses; and after a brief time he died.

THE FRONT DOOR OF THE PIERCE-JOHONNOT-NICHOLS HOUSE FROM THE INSIDE

At the death of the Johonnots, twelve years after, George Nichols and his wife inherited, under a deed of trust, the famous old mansion. At the age of seventy, Nichols retired from business and spent his declining years in tending the famous old garden which he loved. In 1917 the property was bought by the Essex Institute, as a memorial of the old days when Salem was known for her prosperity due to foreign trade.

Chimneys on Salem houses were customarily built to rise from the center of the roof—huge structures of brick, containing many flues from the fireplaces opening from the rooms arranged about them on all sides. In later periods they were placed wherever convenience dictated. A fine example of the former style is seen on the Hosmer-Townsend-Waters house at 80 Washington Square, Salem. This building dates from 1795, designed by McIntire, for Captain Joseph Hosmer. Near it, at 82 Washington Square, East, is the Boardman house, where Washington was entertained when in Salem in 1789, and which elicited from him an exclamation of wonder that the people of Salem could build such handsome residences.

In Virginia, the Colonial type was also in vogue, but with a difference. The General’s surprise was apparently at the fact that in towns, as well as upon the great estates of the South to which he had been accustomed, so large a degree of taste and comfort could prevail.

The side-door of the Hosmer dwelling has an attractive enclosed porch, almost hidden by a huge wistaria which clothes it in a tangle of leafage and bloom. It resembles that already described in the Johonnot house in the presence of oval side-lights, although differing somewhat in architectural features. The front entrance of the Hosmer house closely corresponds with that at the side in design, and both possess the correct six-panel door, relieved by brass latch and knocker.

Historical interest attaches to the Hosmer-Waters house in that it was once the home of Henry Fitz-Gilbert Waters, whose genealogical researches and writings are well-known. These include ‘John Harvard and his Ancestry,’ ‘An Examination into the English Ancestry of George Washington,’ ‘Genealogical Gleanings in England.’ Connoisseurs have stated that Mr. Waters’s collection of antique furniture was surpassed by none in New England.

ASSEMBLY HALL

Not long after the Revolution, the Federal Party in Salem desired a meeting-place, and Samuel McIntire was commissioned to design for this purpose the Assembly Hall. In 1782 the building was erected at 138 Federal Street. Not to be outdone, the Democrats also, though somewhat later, built Washington Hall, likewise the work of McIntire.

Social festivities of all sorts immediately found their center in the Assembly Hall. In 1789, when Washington, for whose personal use the Boardman house had been designated during his stay, paid a visit to Salem, a ball was arranged in his honor, and this took place in Assembly Hall, where he opened the festivities with Miss Abbot, daughter of General Abbot, his host of the occasion. Washington, however, turned his fair partner over to General Knox when the dancing began, asserting that this was out of his line. At Assembly Hall a banquet was tendered Lafayette on his first tour of America some years earlier.

Curiously enough, and contrary to the usual order of things, after a brief period of only thirteen years, Assembly Hall became a private residence, in the year 1795.

Instead of being clapboarded, the front of this building is laid flat, giving a rather bare effect. This impression is somewhat relieved by the elaborate decorations—four handsome Ionic pilasters rising above the roof of the porch nearly to the eaves, while a gable or pediment extends across almost the full width of the façade. The porch itself is of generous breadth, Ionic pillars with a beautifully ornamented frieze, representing grape leaves and clusters, forming a fitting frame for the hospitable entrance just behind. Probably the porch is of more recent date than the building itself, although this is a matter of conjecture. The sides and back of the house differ from the façade in being clapboarded instead of flat. Elaborate iron railings on either side guard the ascent from the sidewalk.

THE BOARDMAN HOUSE

Reference has already been made to the Boardman house at 82 Washington Square, East, as offered to Washington on his Salem visit in 1789. The porch is of the enclosed type, of the Tuscan order, with fluted pilasters, oval side-lights and a picket fence with tall gate-posts surmounted by the familiar urns. A light and homely touch is added in the trellises with their climbing vines which are set close against the house upon either side.

‘OAK HILL’

The present town of Danvers was originally part of Old Salem, and after its separation in 1752, Danvers included the present town of Peabody, which was set off in 1855. In the year 1800, while McIntire was producing his most beautiful and finished work, ‘Oak Hill,’ now in Peabody, was erected from his designs. It is now the summer residence of Mrs. J. C. Rogers, and contains throughout as complete and elaborate a wealth of detail from the wood-carver’s hand as can anywhere be found.

Reference has been made to the fact that craftsmen from the shipyards of Salem, skilled in the carving of figureheads and cabin decorations, sometimes found employment ashore in the service of architects and builders. The year when ‘Oak Hill’ was built marked the climax of Salem’s maritime importance. Carvings suggesting the familiar rope mouldings of ships’ cabins are found upon the balusters.

The porch of this beautiful house, with the exception of the modern doors, is a most complete and graceful composition. Fluted Ionic columns, four in number, support in pairs the front edge of the roof, while its rear rests upon pilasters grouped in the same way. The columns, as often in McIntire’s work, are slender for their height; but instead of appearing spindling, they seem to assume an airy grace which lightens and relieves the whole. A spider-web fanlight surmounts the door, and the leaded glass in the side-lights is heart-shaped—a unique and charming feature.

THE KIMBALL HOUSE

Another of McIntire’s porches, placed in 1800 upon the Kimball house at 14 Pickman Street, is interesting, as illustrating the architect’s characteristic freedom in the combination without discord of the various orders. The columns are Ionic—the entablature is Corinthian style, although incomplete. Side-lights flank the six-paneled door, but the usual fanlight is missing, paneling taking its place. Door-frame and side-lights are decorated by a border of garlands, which are of composition applied to the surface of the wood—although the capitals of the columns are painstakingly carved by hand.

THE COOK-OLIVER HOUSE

One of the most elaborate examples of the work of Samuel McIntire is found in the Cook-Oliver house at 142 Federal Street. The amount of detail upon the entrance-posts and about the doorways is unusual, and is carried to a point where it just misses being overdone. Originally carved for the Derby house on Market Square, much of this work was transferred to the Cook-Oliver house about 1804, at which date this mansion was begun, although unfortunate commercial ventures delayed its completion until about 1814 or 1815. This delay may have worked out as a blessing in disguise, as was also perhaps the use of material from the Derby house, which was finally razed in 1815, although the work of demolition had begun at an earlier date.

Samuel Cook was a sea-captain, the father-in-law of General Henry K. Oliver, who was prominent in political and industrial affairs, being at various times Mayor of the city of Lawrence, Mayor also of Salem at the advanced age of eighty years, Treasurer of the State of Massachusetts, Treasurer of the Lawrence Cotton Mills, and Adjutant-General. With the present-day public, however, his chief claim to recognition lies in the fact that he was the composer of many familiar hymns, notably ‘Federal Street,’ named from the thoroughfare where he then lived.

The Cook-Oliver house is a three-story square clapboarded structure save on the eastern side, which is constructed of brick to keep out the east wind. An old-fashioned ‘jut-by,’ with flat boarding, projects from the rear L, with a side-entrance—an arrangement seldom found in houses of this late period, though common in lean-to days.

The porch of the Cook-Oliver house exemplifies once more that characteristic quality of McIntire’s genius—freedom of combination conjoined with restraint of artistic taste—which lends his work so much of originality, while it never approaches the bizarre. Here we find Tuscan, Corinthian, and Doric motives all present, yet without discord. The garlands and festoons about the door-casing and side-lights relieve the severity of the right angles, while elliptical fanlight and side-lights with unique leading complete the harmonious whole. The modern door is again the sole jarring note.

A word must be added regarding the gate-posts, which are the most ornate among many of similar design in Salem. The medallions, carved knots and garlands, the cornice directly below the urns, and the moulded urns themselves with their flames at the top, represent a veritable labor of love on the part of the master-craftsman. The final touch is found in fence and gate, which, simple to plainness, modestly concede to the remainder of the work its proper importance.

THE GEORGE M. WHIPPLE HOUSE

Erected in the year 1804, the George M. Whipple house at 2 Andover Street is a typical example of the three-story square wooden dwelling of the period. The enclosed porch with its balustraded roof is of more recent construction, but in keeping with the best architectural traditions. Rather shallow as to depth, light is admitted by means of leaded side-lights of unusual design, as well as by the glazed upper panels of the door itself. Pilasters of Doric order support a dentiled entablature, while the door is divided after the Dutch fashion into upper and lower leaves.

Above is a fine Palladian window of design harmonious with that of the entrance, surmounted by an arched pediment enriched by a carved ornament representing a basket of flowers.

In many of the old houses of the earlier Salem times, the location of the doorway with relation to the façade was dictated by considerations of convenience rather than a desire for symmetry. Sometimes, as in the cabins of the first period, it was placed as far from the fireplace as possible, so that the smoke might not be blown about the room. Structural arrangements of the interior sometimes determined its position, as well as that of the windows, which in many instances seemed to be placed haphazard.

In the Whipple house the front entrance is at the left of the center as one faces the building, with two windows on one side of it and one upon the other—an unusual arrangement in houses of this type.

THE NATHAN ROBINSON-LITTLE HOUSE

One of the most pleasing porches and doorways of all in Old Salem is that of the house at 10 Chestnut Street, built by Nathan Robinson about 1804. Resting upon the massive granite plinths so favored by the famous McIntire, fluted Ionic columns support a simple entablature with dentiled cornice above. The fanlight and side-lights are artistically designed, the latter showing a pattern of alternate circles and diamonds. Above the door itself is a curious and unusual strip of dentil character, and this is supported by four slender half-round pilasters which constitute the framework of the door.

Close to the plinths at the base of the porch columns are set the handsome gate-posts with their surmounting urns. The posts themselves are paneled, and adorned by carved rosettes within a paneled square. They possess flat capitals with a fine dentil member just beneath, and the bodies of the urns are delicately fluted.

In making some changes within this old house, it was discovered that there were in the hallway three fireplaces, one within the other, in the thickness of the wall. Successive alterations had changed the dimensions of the opening, until it narrowed finally to culminate in a small modern grate. It now stands as at first constructed, its narrow mantel adorned with rare bits of old pewter.

This splendid old house at 29 Chestnut Street deserves to be called sumptuous in architectural detail, as no part of doorway, porch, or Palladian window lacks its elaborate decoration—with the single exception of the side-lights, which are chastely simple.

Both supporting and engaged columns are of the Corinthian type, these being reproduced in miniature in others which form the framework of the doorway itself.

The porch roof has a handsome balustrade, and above this we find once more slender Corinthian columns in the frame of the Palladian window. The arched pediment of the latter has a keystone bearing a carved emblem, and frames a fanlight of original design. The windows of all three stories receive special attention in the addition of carved lintels, embodying the familiar ‘Grecian border’ motif, with interesting variations.

The beautiful paneled door of this fine old mansion is of the true Colonial pattern, and has three leaves, with a handsome brass knob. A spear-head iron fence curving gracefully inward to the granite steps, and iron hand-rails of a different design, complete the architectural whole, which is said to have been imitated more than any other in Old Salem.

THE WHITE-LORD HOUSE

Like other old New England towns, Salem once possessed a ‘Common,’ originally a pasture for cattle. The Salem Common consisted of eight acres of land. In early days this tract was swampy, containing several small ponds, and thick with blackberry bushes. At the eastern end was an enclosure in which animals might be shut up at night. The herdsman was a regular functionary of the town, like the ‘fence-viewer’ and ‘herring inspector,’ and under bonds for the honest performance of his duty. In 1770 the almshouse was erected upon the northeast corner of the plot; but in 1801 this was much improved by grading and the setting-out of trees, Colonel Elias Hasket Derby heading the subscription-list for the purpose. A few years later the field was fenced in, with four entrances or ‘gateways’ consisting of tall wooden arches with suitable ornamentation. The ‘Western Gateway’ was crowned by one of McIntire’s famous eagles, gilded; while upon the face of the arch appeared a medallion of Washington in profile—the ‘Common’ having been dedicated in 1802 to the General under the name of Washington Square. This famous medallion measured thirty-eight by fifty-six inches, and was carved from McIntire’s sketch of Washington made while he stood on the porch of the City Hall to receive the welcome of the citizens of Salem in the Square below.

On the various sides of Washington Square stood many of the chief mansions of the old town. Among these were the Boardman house, the Hosmer-Townsend-Waters house, the Crowninshield-Devereux-Waters house, the Baldwin-Lyman house, and that now under consideration, the White-Lord house. This, erected in 1818, stands at 31 Washington Square. Its doorway has been said to embody reminiscences, architecturally speaking, of two famous houses in Germantown and Philadelphia.

THE SALEM CLUB

Closely resembling in its architectural features the Baldwin-Lyman porch at 92 Washington Square, East, and the Dodge-Shreve porch at 29 Chestnut Street, the porch of the Salem Club at 29 Washington Square presents a fine example of the Corinthian style which came into vogue in Salem about 1816. A wrought-iron balustrade on the porch roof adds an unusual touch.

Like so many old family residences in Salem, which in time became converted to public use through their acquisition by societies, homes, and lodges, the building now housing the Salem Club was once a private dwelling. It was built in 1818 for John Forrester. After this fine mansion passed out of the Forrester family, it was owned by Colonel George Peabody, whose daughter married the Honorable William C. Endicott, Secretary of War in Cleveland’s Cabinet.

Colonel Peabody owned many art treasures, one of which, housed in this dwelling, was Murillo’s ‘Immaculate Conception,’ valued by connoisseurs at the sum of $100,000.

The story is told of one Salem citizen, named Simon Forrester, father of the original owner of the house in question, that he projected a plan for the decoration of his own residence, including the representation upon the walls of drawing-rooms and hallways, not of the favorite scenes so often found on the costly wall-papers of the time, such as Cupid and Psyche, Roman ruins, Venetian lagoons, the English hunting-fields, the adventures of Don Quixote, etc., but rather a series of episodes from his own life, ‘showing his rise from poverty to grandeur; the place of his birth, a humble cottage in Ireland; his various places of business, with the wharves of Salem, and the vessels which had brought his merchandise to them.’

THE BALDWIN-LYMAN HOUSE

Also on Washington Square, at Number 92, the square three-story brick house in question, standing well apart from other buildings, its mellow façade almost completely hidden by ivy, deserves far more than passing mention. The date of its erection is 1818. It bears a peculiar and charming air of self-respecting reserve, to which effect the simple wooden picket fence with ornamental posts contributes by seeming to supply an appropriate frame to the picture.

The windows of the top floor, as was customary at the period, are shorter than those of the other tiers, giving the desired effect of foreshortening. The windows themselves, however, have been modernized by the use of four-panel sashes, and this substitution detracts from the Colonial ensemble.

The porch of the Baldwin-Lyman house, supported by four smooth Corinthian columns and surmounted by a pleasing wooden balustrade, with its white six-paneled door, its plain square-panel side-lights, simple fanlight, and complete absence of embellishment or decoration, presents a singularly pure and distinctive appearance. In contrast to this simplicity, the gate-posts are in full dress—they are fronted by small Ionic pilasters with a wide reeded band above, and are further embellished with carved diamonds or lozenges, some placed in a vertical and some in a horizontal position, in the space immediately below the capital. The surmounting urns again are purely designed. Their covers, however, have a beaded edge; and the details of the flames which they emit are more deeply and carefully carved than usual.

THE ANDREW-SAFFORD HOUSE
The mahogany door was discovered in the cellar and replaced in its original position

Another fine example of the old brick mansion of the closing period of Colonial Salem is the Andrew-Safford house at 13 Washington Square. Erected in 1818, it was reputed to be the most costly private residence in New England. Thanks to successful commercial ventures in foreign trade, money was plentiful in Salem, and it was freely spent in the provision of comfortable and indeed luxurious homes for those who had earned it. It seems, perhaps, a wonder that there was so little in the architecture of the time which was merely ornate or pretentious, and so much which exhibited refinement and restraint. But we must remember that for thirty years the genius of Samuel McIntire dominated Salem in this field, and his tradition lived after him; so that up to the time of the so-called Greek revival, about the second quarter of the nineteenth century, there was no inclination, as there was indeed, no occasion, for departure from the best artistic ideals in building and decoration.

The Andrew-Safford estate comprises the house itself, an extensive garden of old-fashioned flowers at one side, and out-buildings and stables in suitable style. The house has suffered from a coat of paint; four-paned sashes have replaced the quaint twelve-paned style of the period. At the rear a beautiful portico resting upon fluted columns extends to the full height of the three stories. The Andrew-Safford house as a whole is as well worth study as any of equal age in Salem.

A thing of genuine beauty is the stately porch at the front entrance. Elaborate almost to overloading, it still avoids this, maintaining an air of pride and dignity almost reaching the majestic.

Six mighty Corinthian columns hold aloft the heavy elliptical roof, with a rectangular element at either side. Smaller columns frame the side-light and door. The pattern of side-lights and fanlights repeats the suggestion of the ellipse; while a heavy balustrade about the roof-edge crowns the work, with a total impression of nobleness and power. The handsome granite steps and iron hand-railings below, and the charming and appropriate Palladian window above, complete a harmonious whole.

This dwelling was built by John Andrew, whose famous nephew John A. Andrew, War Governor of the Commonwealth, frequently enjoyed its hospitable welcome.

Here Hawthorne was a favored guest, as was his charming cousin Susan Ingersoll, familiarly known as ‘The Duchess.’ Henry Clay was at one time entertained here.

THE GARDNER-WHITE-PINGREE HOUSE

Samuel McIntire, the famous Salem architect, died in 1811. The Gardner-White-Pingree house was designed by him in the previous year, and was possibly his last achievement. The shape of the building is oblong, most of the best houses of the period being square. The windows of the top story are foreshortened. The narrow bands of white marble running across the façade at the height of the first and second floor deceive the eye, and make the building appear lower than it is.

In the front doorway and porch we have a notable specimen of McIntire’s work, illustrating the freedom with which he employed original ideas in the use of the various architectural orders. Corinthian columns support the porch roof, but they are without the usual fluting; while the pilasters farther back are fluted. The slender grace of the tall columns is most pleasing and the elliptical roof with its simple mouldings well crowns the whole. A spider-web fanlight of beautiful proportions surmounts the doorway, which is flanked by side-lights of pleasing design. The wide door itself, though not of original Colonial type, is not a discordant note in the ensemble.

A most elaborate cast-iron fence with square openwork posts resembling tree-boxes, standing at the foot of the steps and continued by simpler hand-rails, lends a proper finish to the approach; while the marble sills and keyed lintels of the windows relieve the plain expanse of the façade.

Reference has been made to two of the doorways of the famous ‘House of the Seven Gables’ at the lower end of Turner Street, close to the harbor. This romantic old dwelling dates from the year 1662, a fact gleaned from an ancient iron fire-back standing in one of the fireplaces, bearing this date.

The many gables doubtless belong to sections of the house, built at different times, and the assemblage as a whole is rendered charming by the many irregularities of its composition. It was for four successive generations occupied by the Turner family, from whom Turner Street received its name; they were wealthy citizens, prominent in the civil, military, and mercantile life of the town.

Captain Turner was a representative in the General Court, or legislature, and was once sent with a detail of militia to prevent the town of Andover from falling into the hands of hostile Indians, bringing back as a trophy, as told by his great-granddaughter, a string of scalps which were for many years in his possession.

After the passing of the Turners, the house was occupied by the Ingersoll family. Susan Ingersoll, termed by Hawthorne ‘The Duchess,’ was a favorite cousin. Tradition has it that a chance remark of hers confirmed him in the choice of the name for his famous novel ‘The House of the Seven Gables’—one that has immortalized the old house.

THE J. FOSTER SMITH HOUSE

In Old Salem at Christmas-time a charming custom prevails of decking entrance-door and porch with greens and garlands.

A typical enclosed porch, with the favorite oval side-lights, fluted Tuscan pilasters, and triangular pediment adorned with a hand-tooled wooden wreath, is shown, with the Christmas greens gracefully draped about it. This is the residence of J. Foster Smith, at 132 Federal Street, and is about a hundred and fifty years old.

THE GRACE MACHADO HOUSE

Most of the old-time houses in Salem stood bare and unadorned, except for the beauty of their architectural embellishments. In a few cases, however, vines and creepers have been encouraged to embower the porch, or even to cling to the façade itself. Examples of this are: the Hosmer-Townsend-Waters house on Washington Square; the Studio at 2-4 Chestnut Street; the Mansfield-Bolles house at 8 Chestnut Street; the Baldwin-Lyman house at 92 Washington Square; the Mack and Stone house at 21 and 23 Chestnut Street; and the home of Miss Grace Machado at 5 Carpenter Street, where a gorgeous wistaria covers the entire front of the building with its clusters of purple bloom.

THE STEARNS HOUSE

Houses of the period following the gambrel-roofed type were in shape commonly either square or rectangular. Almost always the third-story windows were nearly square, as compared with the taller ones of the first and second floors—an architectural device by means of which the building appeared lower than it actually was. This was called ‘foreshortening.’ The severity of outline presented by these simple structures was relieved by various devices—sometimes by quoined corner-boards, an ornamental cornice, a balustraded roof, or decorative lintels above the windows; very rarely by rusticated front-boards in imitation of stone blocks. The chief glory of the house as one viewed it from the outside was of necessity the entrance, with its porch, open or enclosed; and it was hither that the loving attention of architect and wood-carver was most assiduously directed.

The Stearns house, built in 1776, stands at 384 Essex Street, and presents a notable example of the Revolutionary style.

As was very often the case with Salem houses, the plain character of the original structure of the Stearns homestead was later relieved by the addition of a porch of most artistic design, again from the hand of Samuel McIntire, regarding whom one is continually led to wonder that in the short period of his activity he could achieve so much. This new porch was put in place in 1785, and is of especial dignity due to the use of flanking pilasters in addition to the engaged columns at the rear of the structure. The order is Doric and the effect is one of strength and permanence.

At the North Bridge affair in February, 1775, when Colonel Leslie’s troops met armed resistance from the Salem citizens, one of the leading spirits on the patriot side was ‘Major’ Joseph Sprague. It was for him that this house was erected, later passing into the hands of the Stearns family, connections of the Major by marriage. Colonel Sprague, as he later became, died in 1808, since which time this has been known as the Stearns house.

Belonging to the same period as the Stearns house, but a few years earlier in origin, having been built in 1761, the Timothy Orne house at 266 Essex Street makes a somewhat more painstaking attempt at decoration than most of those of the time.

It has balustraded roof, quoined corners, and ornamental cornice; its chimney-stacks taper at the top; while the handsome porch presents a center toward which the eye naturally reverts as the keynote of the whole.

The activities of the Committee of Safety just prior to the Revolution are well-known, as is the fate which commonly befell those persons who were suspected of Royalist leanings. Tarring and feathering was the usual method of exhibiting patriotic distaste for such proclivities; and Timothy Orne, owner of the house in question, seems to have fallen under the ban, inasmuch as some old-time correspondence relates that he narrowly escaped this humiliating ordeal, being released on condition of good behavior.

The Orne house possessed a ‘decked’ roof—the original purpose of which was to afford the Salem merchant an elevated platform from which through his glass he might scan the horizon for his incoming ships. This type of roof is found upon many of the houses of that period. The ‘belvedere,’ a small balustraded platform at the center of the roof at the summit, was a variation of the cupola idea, both of these as found upon Salem houses having their origin in utility—a lookout-place rather than an architectural feature. Nevertheless, as on the Baldwin-Lyman and Pickman-Shreve-Little houses and others, a gratifying decorative effect was secured.

Crowninshield, in early days pronounced ‘Grounsell’—was a great name in Old Salem. The house of George Crowninshield stood on the present location of the Custom-House, its cupola surmounted by a weather vane in shape of a man with a telescope. This George, a famous ship-owner, was the father of three sons, Benjamin, member of Congress and Secretary of the Navy under Presidents Madison and Monroe; Jacob, also a Congressman; and Captain George, owner of Cleopatra’s Barge, one of the first pleasure yachts ever built in America.

Clifford Crowninshield in 1805 erected a house after designs by McIntire at 72 Washington Square, East. This building was square, with a long L at the side, an enclosed porch being placed in the angle formed by the two buildings.

Clifford Crowninshield might be called a ‘merchant plunger.’ He amassed great wealth by fortunate ventures. His ship Minerva was the first Salem vessel to carry the flag around the world. In 1809 he died, and his house was occupied by his brother-in-law, Captain James Devereux.

Devereux was of the same type as Crowninshield. As captain of the ship Franklin, of Boston, he traded with Japan half a century before Admiral Perry opened the door to American commerce. In 1808 he paid $26,618.25 customs duties on a single cargo of coffee. Dying in 1846, he left the house to Captain William Dean Waters, his son-in-law. Waters died in 1880, and in 1892 the property passed out of the family.

The entrance of this huge homestead, with its elliptical porch surmounted by a handsome balustrade, its solid Tuscan columns, spreading fanlight, and paneled door, is in scale with the rest of the building. The tiny square windows on the third floor add a quaint touch to the whole.

THE MANSFIELD-BOLLES HOUSE

Oblong houses in Old Salem stood sometimes with the front to the street, sometimes with the end; the latter is the case with the Mansfield-Bolles house at 8 Chestnut Street, built in 1810. The house is of brick, painted, which has spoiled the mellow effect. It is entirely covered as to the front with a close growth of ampelopsis. At the center is the handsome doorway, nearly flush with the façade, the spreading fanlight, oval-paned side-lights, and proper Colonial paneled door producing a most pleasing effect. The windows of the upper story are not foreshortened—an unusual feature in houses of this type. This is probably due to the fact that this story was a later addition, the building having previously been used for commercial purposes.

The late Reverend Dr. E. C. Bolles, professor at Tufts College, and formerly pastor of the Universalist Church in Salem, lived here for many years.

THE RICHARD DERBY HOUSE

This is the oldest brick residence in Salem, being built in 1761 by Richard Derby, whose son, Elias Hasket Derby, became the greatest merchant of the time, owning the Grand Turk of 300 tons, originally built for a privateer, but turned to commercial uses, and one of the fastest sailing craft afloat. His ship Atlantic was the first of the famous Indiamen, trading with Calcutta and Bombay before the eighteenth century had come to a close. The house in question is said to have been built for him. It was Elias Hasket Derby who headed the popular subscription for redeeming Salem Common from its unkempt condition and converting it into Washington Square.

Richard Derby had formerly occupied a gambrel-roofed wooden house which, erected in 1738, still stands at the corner of Herbert and Derby Streets. The brick house we may imagine represented a great advance in building. There had been one attempt, as early as 1700, at a brick house, but the owner’s wife considered it unsanitary, and prevailed upon him to demolish it.

An interesting feature of the Derby house is the location of the four chimneys in pairs at either end. This was no doubt an improvement over the old style of a huge central stack, with fireplaces opening into it from all sides. The entrance is most attractive, though unpretentious. One notices the fluted pilasters with Doric capitals, the severe square-paned top-light, the elaborate paneling of the door, and the very unusual effect of the rusticated jambs.

Beautifully shaded by huge elms, the Hodges-Peele-West house at 12 Chestnut Street affords a typical illustration of the square brick house of the early years of the nineteenth century. This was erected in 1804 for Captain Jonathan Hodges, and was remodeled in 1845 by its then owner, Willard Peele. The warm red-brick, so effective as a background for the pure white of the Colonial porch, has here been hidden by a coat of gray paint. A light and artistic iron fence encloses the yard, stables of a design harmonious with the house itself are located at the rear, and a most attractive and handsome porch invites entrance.

THE SILSBEE-MOTT HOUSE

Although fallen out of favor at the beginning, as unsanitary and damp, brick houses in Salem finally triumphantly came into their own, and the opening of the nineteenth century found them the prevailing type.

It was some time before so-called double houses, or ‘semi-detached’ houses, began to be erected; but a first attempt had already been made in 1814 and soon after we find a number of examples.

Notable among these is the Silsbee-Mott house, built for two families, at the corner of Oliver Street and Washington Square. Instead of a double house, however, we seem to have two single houses of similar design joined together.

Our plate shows the handsome porch and entrance of the Mott side of the house.

THE HODGES-WEBB-MEEK HOUSE

The Hodges-Webb-Meek house stands in the heart of the business district at 81 Essex Street, built in the latter part of the eighteenth century. Located just back from the street, it has been for many years the only one left of the row of houses where the exclusive set of Old Salem formerly lived. It is a gambrel-roofed building of architectural importance and is closely connected with the early history of the city. Would that these old porches could relate the many romances and tragedies they have witnessed since coming into being—to tell us of the days when Salem was a social center, composed of the ship-owners and their families, of which there were a sufficient number to make a story which links itself with her wealth and ventures. It is interesting to trace as far as possible the incentive which they had in designing their homes, with their wide hallways and large, square, white paneled rooms opening on either side, often ending with the old-fashioned garden, laid out at the rear of the houses.

Along tree-shaded Chestnut Street stand houses that were built just after the decline of commerce, and it is to these that we turn for the study of the different periods. Notable among them is the Pickman-Shreve-Little house at 27 Chestnut Street, a large three-story brick mansion with both front and side porches; but it is that which faces the residential street of Old Salem of which we wish to speak.

The house was built in 1816, and, while similar in style to the Dodge-Shreve house, has the distinction of having the very best Corinthian porch on Chestnut Street, impressive with its hand-tooled lintels, displaying central vertical bead-moulding.

Originally it was built for one of the most daring of the intrepid ship-owners who had amassed a fortune in the days when the East Indies opened up trade which brought glory to the old seaport town—days when level-headed merchants vied with each other in competing in foreign lands. It has been said of young Pickman, the first owner of this house, that he was a man with a mind as keen as a Damascus blade, faithful in friendship and an absolute genius in financial affairs, especially during the days when forests of masts rose at the wharves, when men worked with a will, aided by their wives and daughters, who were willing to assist them with wise economies.

In the years to come the history of Salem and her commerce will have faded from the minds of the younger generation. This makes it imperative that accurate facts be culled from the oldest inhabitants, through which we may learn narratives never told concerning the days and ways when ships were linked with her business life.

Salem architecture will never fade—it will grow more valuable as time passes on; therefore, it behooves us to cherish not only her porches and her houses, but her wall-papers, her hand-tooling, and the treasures brought over by merchantmen and clipper ships just after the Revolutionary War.

THE HOME FOR AGED WOMEN

Many buildings in Salem which now house various charities and organizations were originally private houses, with which is associated much interesting history.

One such instance is found in the Home for Aged Women at 180 Derby Street.

Erected in 1810 from designs by McIntire, this was the home of the Honorable Benjamin W. Crowninshield, Secretary of the Navy under Madison and Monroe, to whom reference has already been made. William C. Endicott, Secretary of War during Cleveland’s administration, was born here in 1826.

When the property passed into the hands of the Association for the Relief of Aged and Destitute Women, alterations and improvements were made, but the main portion of the house remains as originally built.

Notable among all McIntire’s entrances and porches is that which adorns and dignifies this fine old house. Standing at the head of a flight of six granite steps, fluted Doric columns support the porch roof, the architrave and cornice being severely chaste, in the absence of any carving or ornament whatsoever. Plain pilasters flank the charming doorway, which is wide and hospitable, with a generous and beautiful fanlight, and leaded side-lights of graceful design.

The door itself is of unusual size, but bears the characteristic Colonial panels, six in number, and is painted white. The total effect is one of purity and taste, with a certain note of nobility which inevitably impresses the beholder.

This house, then owned by Secretary Crowninshield, was occupied by President Monroe when he visited Salem in 1817.

Guests at the time included a number of notable men from every department of public service—Judge Joseph Story, General Dearborn, Commodores Bainbridge and Perry, Senator Silsbee, Lieutenant-Governor Gray, and General James Miller among them. General Miller became Collector of the Port in 1835, and continued in this office until 1849. Nathaniel Hawthorne held the position of Surveyor of Customs for the last three years of General Miller’s administration, when a political overturn ousted both Surveyor and Collector. Spare time with Hawthorne was partly spent in preparing the manuscript of ‘The Scarlet Letter,’ in the introduction to which he describes the old Custom-House.

General Miller fought at Lundy’s Lane—his historic reply on that occasion, ‘I’ll try, sir,’ being afterward by governmental order engraved upon the buttons of his famous regiment.

THE HOME FOR AGED MEN
Turner Street Doorway

As late as 1806, in spite of the general exodus from Derby Street to Chestnut, a few new houses were being built in the old territory. One of these was put up by Captain Joseph Waters, on the corner of Derby and Turner Streets, and possesses some unusual and attractive architectural features. The window lintels are of white marble with keystones, and this produces a striking effect. The main entrance is on the side, and the portico is two stories in height, supported by huge Corinthian columns. Both the main entrance and the smaller one on Turner Street have a note of something a trifle different from the prevailing Salem idea.

Through the generosity of Captain John Bertram, this commodious house was in 1877 donated as a Home for Aged Men.

Somewhat resembling that famous mansion ‘The Lindens,’ at Danvers, described elsewhere, is the Benjamin Pickman house at 165 Essex Street, built in 1743. It has the same two-story pilasters supporting a gable in the gambrel roof, the same rusticated boarding and groined corners. The dormer windows have alternately arched and pointed gables.

The doorway is unusually ornate, with rusticated jambs, and a broken arch pediment in which stands a sculptural bust. This doorway is of the enclosed variety and was added by McIntire in 1800.

The Pickman house was formerly adorned with much beautiful interior carved woodwork, little of which remains. The owner, out of compliment to the industry by which he prospered, caused a carved and gilded codfish to be mounted on each of the stairways, but these, too, are missing. The erection of other buildings in front of the Pickman house hides its real character. Still it repays careful study.

Among all the residences of Old Salem, that which was most ambitious and pretentious no longer exists, save in picture and memory. This was the famous mansion built by McIntire in 1798 for Elias Hasket Derby, Salem’s greatest merchant, at a cost of $80,000. Derby lived only a few months after taking possession, and the upkeep of so expensive an establishment deterring prospective purchasers, this splendid house was dismantled and finally razed in 1815—the land being donated to the town for a public market. Derby Square, where the present Market House now stands, was the location of the famous house.

McIntire was in 1804 erecting a house at 142 Federal Street for Captain Cook. Business reverses greatly delayed its completion, and McIntire continued it at his leisure, taking advantage of the dismantling of the Derby mansion to utilize much of its beautifully carved woodwork in the interior. The result was the Cook-Oliver house, as it is now known—one of the most satisfying to the artistic sense of any in all Salem.

Existing plans and sketches of the Derby mansion show us a huge rectangular building, suggesting a court-house, or some such public structure, standing well back from the street, its great doorway flanked by double columns supporting a balustraded balcony. Above this is a splendid Palladian window, and above this again hand-tooled festoons of drapery. The door itself has ornate fanlight with side-lights to correspond, and stands at the head of a flight of massive steps.

The flat roof with its elaborate cornice and heavy balustrade is supported by pilasters, six in number, having carved capitals; and these in turn at the second floor level rest upon plain pilasters. A huge cupola surmounts the roof, with bell-shaped top, carved garlands, and arched windows. The lintels of the first two tiers of the house windows are heavy with ornament, while the third tier illustrates the familiar plan of foreshortening. A great deal of iron fencing with ornamental posts surrounds the spacious yard.

With all the prodigality of architectural detail embodied in this great mansion, it must still be admitted that it was not overdone, as the large proportions and wide spaces pleasantly distributed the ornamentation over a broad field.

The Derby mansion doubtless represented the climax of effort in the line of house-building in Salem—the sudden death of its owner, followed by its own demolition, being a melancholy comment upon the uncertainty of human plans.

THE NEAL-KITTRIDGE-ROGERS HOUSE

This fine residence, at 13 Chestnut Street, is closely associated with the subject of Salem’s unprecedented commercial activity and success from the earliest date, to which some reference has already been made.

The adjacent waters swarmed with fish, cod, sturgeon, and salmon; and for a hundred years this was the chief article of export. So plentiful was North River salmon that the articles of indentured apprentices contained a proviso that they should not be obliged to partake of it more than three times a week.

Other items of export were ‘lumber, horses, whale- and fish-oil, whalebone, furs, elk- and bear-skins.’

The Revolution halted Salem’s commerce, and with patriotic devotion and Yankee ingenuity, the ketches and ships of trade were quickly converted into privateers. All told, these numbered upwards of 158; and during the war they took 445 prizes—an average of three apiece.

At the close of the war, Salem found her fleet upon her hands; and her merchants began to look farther from home for the trade to which their newer and larger vessels were better fitted than for their previous short voyages to the mother country or to near-by European ports.

The daring spirit of American sailors turned toward Oriental countries, with their glamour of romance and danger and their lure of wealth; and soon the ports of all the East became familiar with Salem vessels, and Salem warehouses were filled with the products of foreign lands. India, Sumatra, China, Zanzibar, Batavia, and Africa all made their contribution to Salem’s increasing wealth; and her name became the synonym for commercial enterprise the world over.

When one recalls the fact that early vessels were usually not over sixty tons burthen, while their skippers were commonly no more than boys—the captain and mates of the first Salem India-man being still in their teens—the wonder grows. Interesting touches are found here and there; as, for example, that the first elephant ever seen in the United States came over from Bengal in 1796, in the ship America, of which Captain Jacob Crowninshield, of Salem, was owner and master.

One of these old-time merchant adventurers was Captain William H. Neal, for whom was built the house at 13 Chestnut Street. Directly across from Hamilton Hall, one might catch glimpses from the upper windows of the festivities in that famous social center. Later, the property was bought by Dr. Thomas Kittridge, and is now the residence of his daughter, Mrs. Foster Rogers.

The doorway and porch are of severe and simple beauty, the fluted pilasters, plain architrave, and rectangular-paned top- and side-lights, together with the six-paneled green door, ornamented with old-time brass knocker and latch, presenting a most harmonious and pleasing effect.

THE ARTHUR WEST HOUSE

The name of West in Salem is closely associated with her commercial enterprise. Nathaniel West was part owner of the Minerva, the first vessel from this port to circumnavigate the globe. The family was connected by marriage with the Peabodys, Crowninshields, and Derbys, Nathaniel West marrying Elizabeth, a daughter of Elias Hasket Derby, and building the handsome residence at Peabody now known as ‘Oak Hill.’ Lieutenant Benjamin West was the only man from Salem to lose his life at the battle of Bunker Hill.

The doorway of the West house at 12 Chestnut Street maintains the best traditions of Colonial architecture. The fluted columns, dentiled architrave, plain top- and side-lights, and fine old six-paneled door, present a pleasing ensemble. The capitals contain a hint of the Egyptian in the use of the lotus-leaf.

THE HOFFMANN-SIMPSON HOUSE

Captain Charles Hoffman, original owner of the handsome brick mansion at 26 Chestnut Street, was a prosperous merchant, whose hobby when ashore was the care of his famous garden. He was the importer of the first azaleas known in America, the old conservatories which he used being still in existence.

The present occupant of the house, Dr. James Simpson, has kept the beautiful old-fashioned garden intact, with the same varieties of flowers which Captain Hoffman originally planted. The central feature of the garden is an ancient summer-house, covered with a thick growth of ‘Dutchman’s Pipe,’ the vine being over eighty years old.

For sheer beauty and taste, the porch and doorway of this old mansion are scarcely surpassed by any in Salem. The fluted columns are Ionic, the architrave directly above ornamented with guttæ, while beneath the cornice is a line of ball moulding. The fine old door bears a brass knocker; the leaded glass of top- and side-lights is of exceptional charm. The casing of the doorway is finely moulded; and the designer has added a unique completing touch by painting the adjacent brickwork white.

THE DOYLE MANSION

The ‘Doyle Mansion,’ always so-called, stands at 33 Summer Street, and possesses a most interesting history.

Its original owner was a Captain Doyle. Incurring serious losses through unfortunate ventures in trade, the family took in two or three ‘paying guests.’ This plan proving successful, it was enlarged by gradual additions until a second, and soon a third, house was needed to care for the growing business. Recently a fourth house—that standing next door, once the residence of Samuel McIntire, the famous craftsman and architect—has been included in the establishment, which has carried on its business continuously for ninety-seven years.

It is gratifying to be able to record the fact that all the old furnishings of the house have been kept intact. In the hallway, as fresh as when originally hung, is a beautiful wall-paper of the familiar ‘castellated’ pattern.

The doorway is severely plain, the sole ornamentation being in the brackets which support the porch roof, and the dentils and modillions beneath the cornice.

Visitors to Old Salem who try to identify the scenes of the little town’s ancient glory will find small comfort on Derby Street.

Stretching for the distance of half a mile along the water-front, this was once the center of the thriving commerce of the place. Along one side of the street were the counting-houses of the merchant princes, around which hung the atmosphere and flavor of thrilling maritime romance. Practically the entire male population, young and old, was engaged directly or indirectly in the business of such as go down to the sea in ships. Ship-builders and sailors, craftsmen and navigators—Derby Street hummed with their activities. Before the ports of New York and Boston had acquired touch with Oriental trade, Salem had already dipped deep into the coffers of the East; and the ambition of her bold adventurers was well expressed in the motto upon the seal of the town—‘Divitis Indiæ usque ad ultimum sinum’—‘Unto the farthest bay of wealthy Ind.’

Some idea of the volume of the trade whose center was in Derby Street may be gained from the fact that in thirty years customs duties totaled more than eleven million dollars, while over two hundred and fifty vessels flew the flag in every corner of the seven seas.

All this brought into Salem an element not only of wealth and comfort, but of culture and refinement as well; and so on Derby Street, across from the counting-houses where the money was made, arose the handsome homes of those who had made it, and to whom it brought the means of maintaining a high standard of living. Here were to be found all the finest residences of Salem; it was in truth the ‘Court end’ of the town.

But to-day all is changed. With but a single exception here and there, Derby Street presents a squalid and forlorn succession of shabby frame houses, occupied mostly by foreigners. Commerce consists in such humble trade as goes on in Greek restaurants and Polish markets. The splendid homes of merchants and ship-owners no longer gratify the eye; and what is of note to-day in architectural beauty and taste in Salem must be sought elsewhere than in its original location.

With the advent of the railroad, the maritime commerce of the town began to decline. The counting-houses gradually closed. No longer did the boys of the town, on the lookout for returning ships, descrying a familiar rig or figurehead at the harbor’s mouth, race for Derby Street to bring the earliest news and claim the customary reward. No longer did the ship-owner pace the ‘Captain’s Walk,’ glass in hand, to raise on the distant horizon the topsails of some overdue vessel. The ancient glory was departed; and unwilling to linger where reminders of past grandeur continually met the eye, the men of wealth and standing with one accord took thought for a spot where they might rebuild, and form a sort of neighborhood community where the traditions of maritime greatness should be maintained in an atmosphere all their own. A move was first made in the direction of Beverly, but meeting some obstacles connected with land titles, another selection was made, and Chestnut Street, with its double row of beautiful and artistic Colonial mansions, stretches its half-mile under the arching trees.

Some account such as the foregoing is necessary for the understanding of the grouping of so large a number of splendid residences in one quarter of the town. Washington Square, to be sure, presents a somewhat similar case; but it was Chestnut Street which was considered the most choice and exclusive section. It ‘kept itself to itself,’ as the saying was: and woe to the social climber who might unsponsored seek to make his way into the royal group.

As at first laid out, the land upon which each house on Chestnut Street was located extended through to Essex Street on the one side and to Broad Street on the other. The regret often finds expression that these fine homes are built so close to the sidewalk as to lose the setting of lawn and shrubbery at the front. The chief reason for this probably lies in the fact that the garden was very dear to Salem hearts, and all the space possible was desired for its development. In the rear of many an old mansion may still be found, somewhat shrunken in size, an old garden which is a veritable spot of beauty. Some of these were laid out in the formal Italian manner, like that of the Ropes Memorial on Essex Street; of the old-fashioned sort are those of the Cabot-Low, the Pierce-Johonnot and the Cook-Oliver houses. The Cabot garden used to boast of over six hundred varieties of tulips, imported by its owner from Holland. On the street itself, the handsome shade-trees were all set out by the owners of the houses on either side.

HOUSE OF MRS. EMERY JOHNSON
362 Essex Street

Walking down Chestnut Street to-day, one is impressed by the beautiful porches and doorways which face one another across the broad avenue between. They seem to speak of cordial hospitality and to extend a welcome to expected guests.

Such hospitality was a well-known characteristic in fact of Salem homes; and on Chestnut Street it was notably exemplified, though in its own exclusive way.

Socially Chestnut Street was exceedingly gay. Many were the ‘parties’ which took place within those beautiful homes, and many the distinguished guests entertained there. Invitations were always delivered by the children, who went from door to door with note or message telling of the place and time. Often the party was an all-day affair, to which the ladies went each with her beaded bag containing her work. Tea was served at four o’clock, out-of-doors if the weather permitted, indoors if necessary. ‘Nimble-cake’ was a favorite adjunct of the cup of tea. In the evening the gentlemen appeared; and one may imagine the effect of small-clothes and ruffles, silken gowns and India shawls, amid the handsome furnishings and lavish architectural beauty of the spacious Colonial rooms and hallways.

Public balls and receptions were equally gay and equally exclusive. Usually held in Hamilton Hall, on the corner of Chestnut and Cambridge Streets, they included only such persons as were socially vouched for by the proper authorities.

On these occasions the finest silver and linen were sent over for the table, as were rugs for the floor, by the housewives. Refreshments were available all the evening, and later on dinner was served, featuring the favorite dainties of the time—not forgetting ‘sangaree,’ for the mixing of which there was always abundance of imported stock.

THE HOUSE OF MRS. GEORGE WHEATLAND
374 Essex Street

At these Assemblies the students from Harvard College, as it then was, were very popular, and found many a fair partner among the Salem beauties, of whom there was no lack. No less a personage than President Washington himself commented, at the time of his reception at Assembly Hall in 1789, upon the large number, upwards of a hundred, of handsome ladies present.

Mention of the Chestnut Street festivities would hardly be complete without reference to the Salem Cadets, an exclusive military organization resembling the famous Seventh Regiment of New York. They had an armory at 136 Essex Street, formerly the residence of Colonel Francis Peabody, to which a drill-shed was added. In the ‘Banqueting Hall’ of the Peabody mansion Prince Arthur of England, in the country for the purpose of attending the funeral of George Peabody, the London banker, in 1870, was entertained at dinner. This handsome room was finished in carved oak in the Elizabethan Gothic style. The figure of Queen Victoria appears over the fireplace, supported by mailed figures.

This woodwork has been removed to the Masonic Temple on Washington Street, where it adorns one of the smaller rooms. The Peabody house was demolished in 1908.

Wearing their famous scarlet uniforms, and swinging down Chestnut Street, their favorite parade-ground, with handkerchiefs waving from the classic porches on either side, the Salem Cadets lend a touch of color and life which is most attractive against the Colonial background.

The house is nothing without its inhabitant; and thus Salem architecture, however beautiful, would lack in significance if dissociated from the persons, men and women, who have passed in and out of these hospitable doors, or spent years of life beneath the sheltering roofs.

As one scans the roster, he is led to wonder that so many famous names are found upon it—both inhabitants and guests—considering the size of the place: ‘infinite riches in a little room.’ For among those who were born in Salem, or lived here long enough to call it home, are Nathaniel Hawthorne; Nathaniel Bowditch, the famous mathematician; the Honorable Jacob Crowninshield and his brother Benjamin, Secretary of the Navy under two Presidents; Colonel Timothy Pickering, of Revolutionary fame; General Henry K. Oliver, the well-known musician; President E. C. Bolles, of Tufts College; Colonel George Peabody, art-lover and merchant prince; William Bentley and William H. Prescott, the historians; General Israel Putnam; Count Rumford; Henry FitzGilbert Waters, the genealogist; Charles T. Brooks, essayist and poet; the Honorable Rufus Choate; John Singleton Copley, the artist, whose son became Lord Chancellor of England; the Honorable George B. Loring, Congressman and Minister to Portugal in Harrison’s administration; Benjamin Peirce, eminent among the scientists of his day; the Honorable Nathaniel Read, Congressman and inventor of the cut nail; John Rogers, the sculptor; Jones Very, the poet; Joseph E. Worcester, of dictionary fame; General Frederick T. Ward, organizer of the Chinese troops which in the Tai-Ping Rebellion were called the ‘unbeatable army’—and many others.

Among the noted visitors who were at various times guests of the town appear the names of the Marquis de Lafayette, President Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Henry Clay, President Monroe, General W. T. Sherman, the Right Honorable Joseph Chamberlain, War Governor John A. Andrew, President Chester A. Arthur, King Edward VII of England (then Prince of Wales), President Andrew Jackson, Louis Kossuth the Hungarian patriot, General George B. McClellan.

Wealth accumulated in Salem, but men did not decay. Few towns in New England can boast of such striking history and such valuable achievements on the part of their citizens, within a like period of time, as can Old Salem by the Sea.

The earliest hallways in old Salem houses, as we have seen, whether at front or rear, were not hallways in any real sense of the term, but were entries, tiny and dark, receiving a dim illumination from the bull’s-eye or square-paned windows in the upper panels of the door, or from the narrow horizontal transom which was later placed above it. There was little of convenience, and still less of hospitality, in these cramped spaces, which were usually just large enough for the door to swing back against the wall, while the entering guest squeezed by into the room opening at the side.

But with enlarging ideas of comfort and convenience, the entry gradually developed into a hallway proper, leading right through the house, the staircase no longer a meager Jacob’s ladder screwing its way upward, but now a wide and handsome ascent of noble proportions, with carved balusters and newel-posts.

Up such a staircase the guest would pass, pausing on the broad landing to admire the beautifully laid out garden which graced the yard of the fine estate, and resting for a few moments upon the cushioned seat which commanded the charming view, framed as it was in a large ornamental window set in the house-wall at the head of the stairs.

These Palladian windows—so-called after Andrea Palladio, an Italian architect of the sixteenth century—consist of a central opening, usually in scale with the other windows of the house, and having the same number of panes, but with an arched top, circular or elliptical, sometimes resembling a fanlight, rarely a solid segment of wood embellished with carved ornaments. Flanking this central opening are side-lights, of plain or tastefully leaded glass, and as most often in Salem houses the Palladian window is placed directly above the main entrance, the pattern of these side-lights, as also the architectural motif of frame and entablature, echo those of the doorway and porch below.

The original use of the Palladian window in Old Salem was an interior one—to furnish light to hallway and stairs; but later, as increasing attention was paid to the exterior appearance of the house, especially in the period when brick was mostly used in construction, it became an adjunct of front doorway and porch, continuing at the level of the second floor the structural idea which began at the first, in sympathy with the order and proportions of the rest, and repeating upon a reduced scale the columns, pilasters, and ornamentation of the major portion of the work.

It is this use of the Palladian window which in many old Salem houses prevents the porch itself from appearing stubby and squat; for the window continues the idea begun in the porch itself, and leads the eye gently and unconsciously upward until it rests satisfied—the entire center of the façade, though the greater part of its height, being thus occupied by forms of grace and beauty, to which the plain character of the remainder of the structure lends itself as an agreeable foil.

Interesting and handsome examples of the Palladian window abound on old Salem buildings, both public and private, and are repeated also in modern houses which are reproductions of the Colonial type.

Hamilton Hall, built from designs by McIntire in 1805 and still standing at the corner of Cambridge and Chestnut Streets, has an entire row of these windows, five on a side along its second story. The Market House on Derby Street has all windows of this type, that above the entrance more elaborate in design. The Custom-House affords another example. But by far the most beautiful and interesting are to be found on the private houses of Salem citizens erected at the period when beauty and appropriateness of exterior construction began to be recognized as the true counterpart of beauty and appropriateness within. Interiors had long been elaborately and expensively prepared, while the outside of the house had been ignored; but with the advent of the classic and handsome entrance-porch and its almost necessary adjunct, the Palladian window, this neglect began at last to be repaired.

THE CUSTOM-HOUSE
Associated with Hawthorne’s life in Salem

It will well repay Salem visitors to note the beauty and architectural use of these windows in conjunction with a study of doorway and porch. Notable examples are to be found on the Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols house at 80 Federal Street, on the landing of the second floor; at the Dodge-Shreve house at 29 Chestnut Street; the Pickman-Shreve-Little house next door at Number 27; at the Whipple house, 2 Andover Street; the Lindall-Gibbs-Osgood house at 314 Essex Street, this one lighting the landing on the second floor at the rear, as is the case in the Cook-Oliver house at 142 Federal Street, while that over the porch of the Andrew-Safford house at 13 Washington Square presents a unique example of original treatment without departure from the architectural motif of the porch itself.

CHAPTER VI — Transcriber’s Note:

OLD SALEM KNOCKERS

Tradition maintains that the Pilgrim and Puritan attitude toward strangers was one of reserve and suspicion—upon the theory that until one should prove his motives and purposes to be worthy, they must be assumed to be otherwise.

Something of this natural caution was necessary in the circumstances under which our forbears took up their life in a new country; and the feeling may be said to have been reflected, at first, in the difficulty of finding entrance into their houses. The policy of the ‘open door’ was not the original policy of the Salem Colony in the early years of the settlement, although later the fine old town became noted for its generous and lavish hospitality.

Even to-day, one finds in old New England villages front doors which are never opened; the bolt is rusted into its socket, or the key is ‘frozen’ and refuses to turn. In many instances these front doors have never had steps built up to them, but remain inaccessible, save by climbing, at three or four feet above the ground.

The truth is that the ‘side-door’ was the normal entrance. In this part of the house were the kitchen and living-room. Here the occupants of the house spent most of their time, and here it was natural to seek them, whether for purposes of business or merely for the social gossip which made up so large a part of the simple life of the times.

But with improvement in the type of Salem houses, the enlarging of rooms and hallways, and the more careful attention which then began to be given to front entrances and porches, a corresponding change took place in the mental attitude toward the stranger. The wide and handsome doorway invited him; it was ready to welcome him. But how should he announce his presence? The old-time knocker was the answer.

The study of old knockers furnishes a delightful occupation for the lover of antiques. As found upon the doors of old Salem houses, they furnish conspicuous and charming examples, not only of the art of the craftsman in brass, who loved his work and lent to each specimen turned out by him the impress of his individuality, but of the fondness of our forbears for artistic and symbolic forms, together with an appreciation of classic myths and allegories which is very striking, to those who think of the early Colonists as hard men, with no richness of culture and no love of beauty.

The very earliest Salem knockers were no doubt of iron, usually in the form of a ring, and serving also the purpose of a door-pull—as in the case of the Parkman and Bradstreet mansions, of which pictures may be seen in the Essex Institute, or in that of the Rebecca Nurse house in Danvers, once a part of Old Salem.

The knocker, however, became gradually more artistic and elaborate. Brass was used instead of iron; and the effect of this against the paneled door of green or white, perhaps of mahogany, was effective and pleasing.

Knockers of the second type comprise the hammer form in all its variations; while those of the third type are marked by the representation of human heads, animals, birds, or fishes. These had their origin in Italy, in the best days of the Renaissance, and the examples found in Old Salem are true to artistic type.

OLD SALEM KNOCKERS
(See pages 90-93)

OLD SALEM KNOCKERS
(See pages 93-96)

THE END