Historic Homes of New England — Inside the Classic

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In Category - Architecture

Authors: Northend, Mary Harrod, 1850-1926 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2011 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Architecture, Colonial; Historic buildings -- New England Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 59,006

Reading time 257 min

Text sections 14

This digital edition of Historic Homes of New England — Inside the Classic is described by source-level measurements including 59,006 words, 4 hr 17 min estimated reading time, and 14 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 21.8 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Architecture, Colonial,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #34873

Mary H. Northend's 1914 survey of New England colonial architecture examines private ancestral homes through detailed descriptions of interiors, furnishings, and historical associations, with particular attention to the intertwined lives of Franklin Pierce and Nathaniel Hawthorne as revealed in the Pierce family homestead.

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Hilton was made Bride 137

LIV. The Franklin Pierce House, Hillsboro, N. H. 142

LV. Library, Franklin Pierce House 143

LVI. Sword given by the State of New Hampshire to President Pierce; Bowie Knife used at Barbecue given at Hillsboro for President Pierce, and Canes presented to him by Notable Personages; Sword presented by Ladies of Concord, N. H., to President Pierce 156

LVII. The Savory House, Groveland, Mass. 157

LVIII. Porch and Gateway, Savory House 160

LIX. Hallway, Savory House; Chamber, Savory House 161

LX. China Closet, Savory House; China Closet, Savory House, where China of Three Generations of Brides is Kept 164

LXI. Parlor, Savory House; Living Room, Savory House 165

LXII. The Stark Mansion, Dunbarton, N. H. 168

LXIII. Old Mill, Stark Homestead 169

LXIV. Hallway, Stark Mansion; Parlor, Stark Mansion 172

LXV. Dining Room, Stark Mansion 173

LXVI. Saltonstall House, Haverhill, Mass. 182

LXVII. Two Views of the Hallway, Saltonstall House 183

LXVIII. Two Views of the Dining Room, Saltonstall House 186

LXIX. Chambers in the Saltonstall House 187

LXX. The Dalton House, Newburyport, Mass. 190

LXXI. Porch, Dalton House 191

LXXII. Lower Hall, Dalton House; Upper Hall, Dalton House 198

LXXIII. Fireplaces, Dalton House 199

LXXIV. The Kittredge House, Andover, Mass. 206

LXXV. Hallway, Kittredge House 207

LXXVI. Living Room, Kittredge House; Parlor, Kittredge House 212

LXXVII. Soapstone Fire Frame, Kittredge House; Fireplace, Kittredge House 213

LXXVIII. The Royall House, Medford, Mass. 218

LXXIX. Doorway, Royall House 219

LXXX. Hallway, Royall House, from the Rear 222

LXXXI. Spinning Room, Royall House 223

LXXXII. Kitchen Fireplace, Royall House 226

LXXXIII. Chambers in the Royall House 227

LXXXIV. The Longfellow House, Cambridge, Mass. 236

LXXXV. Library, Longfellow House 237

LXXXVI. The Quincy Mansion, Quincy, Mass. 242

LXXXVII. Porch, Quincy Mansion 243

LXXXVIII. Dining Room, Quincy Mansion 246

LXXXIX. Kitchen, Quincy Mansion; Parlor, Quincy Mansion 247

XC. Paper hung for Wedding of Dorothy Quincy, Quincy Mansion 250

XCI. Chambers in the Quincy Mansion 251

XCII. Porch of the Middleton House, Bristol, R. I. 254

XCIII. Hallway, Middleton House; Fireplace, Middleton House 255

XCIV. Living Room, Middleton House 258

XCV. Bridal Chamber, Middleton House 259

Scattered here and there throughout the South, the Middle West, and the New England States, we find the homes of long ago standing as mute witnesses and representatives of periods in our country's settlements that have become historical. We come across them by the wayside, when driving along country roads, or we catch glimpses of them at the end of grassy lanes, surrounded by pleasant meadows, while others, jutting in between twentieth century houses in our large cities, serve to link the old days with the new. These old mansions are often tenantless; some, with sagging roofs and gaping sides, are fast falling into decay. Still others, well preserved and freshly painted, surrounded by the well kept lawns and posy beds of our grandmothers' time, are survivals of a glorious past.

Old houses are like old romances; both are filled with mystery. Could they but speak, what fascinating tales they would reveal. They carry us back in imagination to one of the most eventful periods of our country's life--that of its struggle for freedom--and they inspire us with a desire to weave them into stories that will give authentic glimpses of the days when our country was young. Surrounding these ancient landmarks we find an irresistible and intangible charm that never fails to appeal, not only to the house-lover but the antiquarian as well. For, no matter how shabby the exterior may be, inside its four walls has been enacted a series of comedies and tragedies, which, if known, might overshadow the romances of the great masters of literature.

In spite of the mystery surrounding these old homesteads, there is, nevertheless, something definite about them which has for the student of the past a deep meaning and a distinct appeal.

Harking back, we find that each particular type of house represents a stage in the development of architecture. They cover a period when architects were practically unknown. Many were evolved from the master builder's brain, while others have been developed little by little from early designs. Monuments of departed days, they stand models to which our present-day architects turn for inspiration.

Few, if any, of the first houses are still standing. They were constructed of logs and had thatched roofs. The timber was, at first, hand sawed in saw pits dug for that purpose, a tedious process. Later on, sawmills were erected, but not in sufficient number to meet the demand for frame houses.

The second period of house building brought out a new idea in construction. Some of these houses were built with two stories in front and one in the rear, this lower story being covered by an extension of the sloping roof. The most imposing of this type were those which were designed with gables at the front and chambers underneath.

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Mary H. Northend's Historic Homes of New England (1914) opens not with a sweeping claim about colonial architecture but with a pointed observation: many old houses, despite preservation, have been "stripped of their colonial furnishings" as owners changed. This tension between architectural survival and the loss of original interiors runs through the book. Northend relies on private owners who opened their homes to allow "pictured representations of correct ancestral furnishing," making the volume as much a record of early twentieth-century access as of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century building. The preface names specific benefactors—the Colonial Dames of Massachusetts, the New Hampshire Society of the Sons of Cincinnati, and individual owners like Miss Caroline O. Emmerton of the House of Seven Gables—revealing the social networks that made the project possible.

Architectural Detail and the Problem of Authenticity

Northend's descriptions consistently highlight three architectural features: "wonderful staircases, richly carved mantels, and colonial windows," each called "an architectural gem." Yet she acknowledges that many interiors have been altered. The book's value lies in its documentation of what remained in 1914, not in a claim of pristine preservation. For instance, the Pierce family homestead retains a "wonderful old paper as fresh and bright as when placed there a century ago"—a rare survival. But elsewhere, Northend implies that the reader is seeing a curated version, a "pictured representation" rather than an untouched artifact. This awareness of loss gives the text a documentary weight beyond mere celebration.

The Pierce-Hawthorne Friendship as a Case Study

The excerpt on Franklin Pierce's boyhood home offers the book's most extended biographical digression. Northend traces Pierce's meeting with Nathaniel Hawthorne in a stagecoach in 1821, alongside Jonathan Cilley and Alfred Mason, and follows their intertwined careers. She notes that Hawthorne dedicated Our Old Home and Biographical Sketches to Pierce, and that the two men, "strongly differing from each other in every trait, were peculiarly united by strong ties of mutual love and helpfulness." The text points to physical evidence: a tree on the grounds with their names carved into the bark. This section exemplifies how Northend weaves personal history into architectural description, treating houses as settings for relationships rather than mere structures.

The Social Fabric of Colonial Hospitality

Northend repeatedly emphasizes the role of these homes as social hubs. The Pierce mansion, for example, "was on the direct route of the Washington stage, which brought many a distinguished guest to enjoy the bounteous hospitality that was dispensed here." She lists visitors including Judge Woodbury, Governor Steele, and the McNeils. This pattern recurs throughout the book: houses are defined not only by their architecture but by the flow of people through them. The preface thanks owners who "have allowed me access to their houses," suggesting that the act of opening a home to a stranger was itself a continuation of colonial hospitality. Northend's lens is thus as much sociological as architectural, capturing a moment when these houses were still lived in and actively shared.

Readers should approach Historic Homes of New England as a period document rather than a comprehensive architectural history. Northend's reliance on private owners and her focus on furnishings and personal anecdotes mean that some houses receive more attention than others, and the selection reflects early twentieth-century tastes and connections. The book is most valuable for its specific observations—the condition of a wallpaper, the layout of a staircase, the trace of a carved name—and for the way it captures a network of preservation-minded families and societies at work in 1914.

This book made me recall sitting in my grandmother’s parlor, tracing the grain of a mahogany table while she told me who had carved it. That same hush of layered history came over me once while flipping through Art-Studies from Nature, as Applied to Design For the use of architects, designers, and manufacturers — Edition Insights, where leaf veins and moldings held the quiet memory of hands. Both feel like listening to wood.