Historic New England
Encyclopedia
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
and is the oldest and largest regional preservation organization in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Historic New England owns and operates historic site
Historic site
A historic site is an official location where pieces of political, military or social history have been preserved. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have recognized with the official national historic site status...
museums and study properties throughout all of the New England states except Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, and serves more than 150,000 visitors and program participants each year. Approximately 36,000 visitors participate in school and youth programs focused on New England heritage.
Historic New England is a museum of cultural history which collects and preserves buildings, landscapes, and objects dating from the seventeenth century to the present and uses them to keep history alive and to help people develop a deeper understanding and enjoyment of New England life and appreciation for its preservation.
History
William Sumner Appleton
William Sumner Appleton, Jr. was Founder of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities in 1910. He was the chief force behind much of the preservation of historic homes in the New England area...
, Jr. founded the Society for the Preservation of new England Antiquities in 1910 for "the purpose of preserving for posterity buildings, places and objects of historical and other interest." Fearing that "our New England antiquities are fast disappearing because no society has made their preservation its exclusive object," Sumner Appleton and a small group of like-minded individuals founded SPNEA in 1910. By 1920, Director of Museums Harry Vinton Long wrote in his report that the museum’s purpose was "to preserve and illustrate the life of New Englanders..." The history of New Englanders encompasses the stories of family life, immigration, school girls' routines, servants' duties, the enslaved Africans, and the products of masons, carpenters, and furniture makers.
Accession records for 1910 list 19 items. Appleton considered everything from the mundane to the singular worth preserving, and so Historic New England's collection today ranges from everyday cakes of soap
Soap
In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid.IUPAC. "" Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. . Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford . XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN...
to extraordinary specimens of fine furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
. As a comprehensive heritage organization, Historic New England today cares for historic properties and landscapes; holds preservation easements and undertakes preservation advocacy work to protect historic properties; develops, maintains and interprets artifact collections; operates a library and archive; researches and publishes books and Historic New England magazine; and provides educational programs for children and adults. The organization's mission statement outlines its goals: "We serve the public by preserving and presenting New England heritage." The organization focuses on New England domestic architecture, collections and stories.
Founder William Sumner Appleton was succeeded as Director by Bertram K. Little, Abbott Lowell Cummings
Abbott Lowell Cummings
Abbott Lowell Cummings is a noted architectural historian and genealogist, best known for his study of New England architecture. He currently lives in South Deerfield, Massachusetts.Cummings was born in St...
and Nancy R. Coolidge before the title of the chief executive officer was changed to President, with Jane C. Nylander and now Carl R. Nold serving in that capacity.
The organization formerly included one of America's most prominent architectural conservation centers (the SPNEA Conservation Center), which pioneered a number of conservation techniques under research leader Morgan W. Phillips
Morgan W. Phillips
Morgan W. Phillips was an American founder of the field of architectural conservation. He is credited with coining the term "architectural conservation" in the early 1970s and was among the first to call himself an "architectural conservator"...
and his apprentices. Phillips is credited with coining the term architectural conservation
Architectural conservation
Architectural conservation describes the process through which the material, historical, and design integrity of mankind's built heritage are prolonged through carefully planned interventions. The individual engaged in this pursuit is known as an architectural conservator...
.
Historic properties/museums
Historic New England currently owns and operates 36 house museums and landscapes across New England, representing nearly 400 years of architecture, as well as a wide-ranging collection of more than 100,000 objects of historical and aesthetic significance (the largest assemblage of New England art and artifacts in the country). It also archives more than 1,000,000 items documenting New England architectural and cultural historyCultural history
The term cultural history refers both to an academic discipline and to its subject matter.Cultural history, as a discipline, at least in its common definition since the 1970s, often combines the approaches of anthropology and history to look at popular cultural traditions and cultural...
, including photographs, prints and engravings, more than 20,000 architectural drawing
Architectural drawing
An architectural drawing or architect's drawing is a technical drawing of a building that falls within the definition of architecture...
s and specifications, books, manuscripts, and ephemera. The Collections Access Project, which provides Internet-based access to catalog data about many of the collections, went online during the organization's centennial in 2010. A Collections and Conservation Center is located in a northern Massachusetts mill town, in a former shoe factory building. While not open to the public, this facility provides for the proper care of collections and access to collections and collections information for curators, students and scholars. Other museums also rent space for collections storage in this facility.
Exhibition programs
A traveling exhibition program presents collections and research to the general public, in cooperation with other museums throughout the region. New exhibitions for 2009 will include America's Kitchens, opening at New Hampshire Historical Society (http://www.nhhistory.org/) in June; Drawing Toward Home, and architectural drawing exhibition that opens at Boston University Art Gallery in November 2009 and travels to the National Building MuseumNational Building Museum
The National Builders Museum, in Washington, D.C., United States, is a museum of "architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning"...
in Washington D.C. during 2010; and a centennial exhibition entitled The Preservation Movement Then and Now which will appear in all six New England states beginning in late 2009 and continuing into 2011.
On line exhibitions include Jewelry at Historic New England, found at http://www.jewelryhistory.org, The Preservation Movement Then and Now, at http://www.historicnewengland.org/resources/PresMovement/, From Dairy to Doorstep: Milk Delivery in New England, 1860-1960 at http://www.historicnewengland.org/resources/From_Diary_to_Doorstep/, and New England Photographs of Verner Reed, at http://www.historicnewengland.org/visit/tour/verner_reed.asp.
Stewardship Easement Program, Preserving Privately-Owned Historic Homes
Through its Stewardship Program, established in the early 1980s, Historic New England holds preservation restrictions on 81 privately owned New England properties, and works with the owners to ensure preservation of the character-defining historic features. The program provides comprehensive protection of exterior, interior and landscape features and is considered a national model for the protection of buildings that remain in active use and in private ownership. Approximately 1/3 of the properties in the program were previously owned by Historic New England, and were returned to private ownership with preservation restrictions that continue in perpetuity. The balance of the properties were enrolled by current or former owners, who donated the deed restrictions to the organization along with endowment fund contributions. Endowment funds provide for the monitoring and enforcement of the easements, carried out by a full time staff dedicated to that purpose.Membership programs
A Historic Homeowner program, available to all for an annual membership fee, provides information to those who own historic houses of any age, up to and including mid-20th century homes. The annual membership includes two consultations with staff experts, one on historic paint colors and a second on a topic chosen by the member, ranging from window repair to roofing materials, hardware source or historic wallpaper selections, or other topics needed for the care of historic homes. Other specialized membership programs focus on Gardens and Landscapes, and on young adults through the Young Friends program, and an upper-level membership society called the Appleton Circle provides benefactor support for organizational programs.Governance
Historic New England is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization which operates under the direction of a 23-member board of trustees.Properties
- Connecticut: Roseland CottageRoseland CottageRoseland Cottage, also known as Henry C. Bowen House or as Bowen Cottage, is a historic house located on Route 169 in Woodstock, Connecticut...
. - Maine: Castle TuckerCastle TuckerCastle Tucker depicts the history of Wiscasset, Maine, USA. Judge Silas Lee built this 1807 Regency-style mansion at the peak of prosperity, when the town was the busiest port east of Boston....
, Hamilton HouseHamilton House (South Berwick, Maine)Jonathan Hamilton House, also known as Hamilton House, is a historic house in South Berwick, Maine. It overlooks the Salmon Falls River, the border between S. Berwick and Rollinsford, New Hampshire....
, Sarah Orne Jewett HouseSarah Orne Jewett HouseSarah Orne Jewett House, built in 1774, is a historic house in South Berwick, Maine, USA. Sarah Orne Jewett lived in the home, owned by her family since 1819, for much of her life. She was a prolific author...
, Marrett HouseMarrett HouseMarrett House is a historic home in Standish, Maine, USA, now owned and operated as a house museum by Historic New England. In 1796, as a young man and recent graduate from Harvard University, Daniel Marrett moved to Standish to become the town parson...
, Nickels-Sortwell HouseNickels-Sortwell HouseThe Nickels-Sortwell House, located on the main street of Wiscasset, Maine, USA, was built in 1807 by Captain William Nickels, a ship owner and trader...
, and Sayward-Wheeler HouseSayward-Wheeler HouseThe Sayward-Wheeler House in York Harbor, Maine, USA, built c. 1718, was the home of Jonathan Sayward, a local merchant and civic leader, who remodeled and furnished the house in the 1760s according to his own conservative taste....
. - Massachusetts: Beauport, Sleeper-McCann HouseBeauport, Sleeper-McCann HouseBeauport, also known as Sleeper-McCann House, Little Beauport, or Henry Davis Sleeper House, is a historic house in Gloucester, Massachusetts. It was built starting in 1907 as the summer home of interior decorator and antique collector Henry Davis Sleeper...
, Boardman House, Browne HouseBrowne HouseThe Abraham Browne House is a colonial house located at 562 Main Street, Watertown, Massachusetts, USA. It is now a nonprofit museum operated by Historic New England and open to the public two afternoons per year....
, Codman HouseCodman HouseCodman House is a historic house set on a estate at 36 Codman Road, Lincoln, Massachusetts. Thanks to a gift by Dorothy Codman, it has been owned by Historic New England since 1969 and is open to the public June 1–October 15 on the first and third Saturdays of the month...
, Coffin HouseCoffin HouseThe Coffin House is a historic Colonial American house, currently estimated to have been constructed circa 1678. It is located at 14 High Road, Newbury, Massachusetts and operated as a non-profit museum by Historic New England...
, Cogswell's GrantCogswell's GrantCogswell's Grant was the summer home of Bertram K. and Nina Fletcher Little, preeminent collectors of American decorative arts in the mid 20th century. Through her research and innumerable publications, Mrs...
, Cooper-Frost-Austin HouseCooper-Frost-Austin HouseThe Cooper-Frost-Austin House is a historic Colonial American house, currently estimated to have been constructed circa 1681-1682. It is located at 21 Linnaean Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is the oldest extant home in Cambridge and operated as a non-profit museum by Historic New England...
, Winslow Crocker HouseWinslow Crocker HouseWinslow Crocker House is a historic house in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts, built circa 1780. In 1936, Mary Thacher, an avid collector of antiques, moved the house of a wealthy 18th-century trader and land speculator, Winslow Crocker, to its present location....
, Dole-Little HouseDole-Little HouseThe Dole-Little House is a historic house located at 289 High Road, Newbury, Massachusetts. It is now a non-profit museum operated by Historic New England and open to the public, for a fee, at rare intervals. Private tours can also be arranged....
, Gedney HouseGedney HouseThe Gedney House is a historic Colonial American house, estimated to have been constructed circa 1665. It is located at 21 High Street, near the intersection of Summer Street in the Chestnut Street District Salem, Massachusetts and operated as a non-profit museum by Historic New England...
, Gropius HouseGropius HouseThe Gropius House was the family residence of noted architect Walter Gropius at 68 Baker Bridge Road, Lincoln, Massachusetts. It is now owned by Historic New England and is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday The Gropius House was the family residence of noted architect Walter Gropius at 68...
, Lyman EstateLyman EstateThe Lyman Estate 37 acres , formerly known as The Vale, is a historic country house located at 185 Lyman Street, Waltham, Massachusetts. It is now owned by the nonprofit Historic New England organization...
, Merwin HouseMerwin HouseMerwin House, also known as Tranquility, is a house located at 14 Main Street, Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is now a non-profit museum operated by Historic New England and sometimes open to the public. An admission fee is charged....
, Harrison Gray Otis HouseHarrison Gray Otis HouseThere are three houses named the Harrison Gray Otis House in Boston, Massachusetts. All were built by noted American architect Charles Bulfinch for the same man, Harrison Gray Otis.-First Harrison Gray Otis House:...
, Pierce House, Josiah Quincy HouseJosiah Quincy HouseThe Josiah Quincy House , located at 20 Muirhead Street in the Wollaston neighborhood of Quincy, Massachusetts, was the country home of Revolutionary War soldier Colonel Josiah Quincy I, the first in a line of six illustrious Josiah Quincys that included three Boston mayors and a president of...
, Rocky Hill Meeting HouseRocky Hill Meeting HouseThe Rocky Hill Meeting House is a well-preserved New England meeting house located at 4 Portsmouth Road, Amesbury, Massachusetts. It is the best preserved example of an original 18th century meeting house interior in New England, and now a nonprofit museum owned by Historic New England and open to...
, Spencer-Peirce-Little FarmSpencer-Peirce-Little FarmThe Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm is a Colonial American farm located at 5 Little's Lane, Newbury, Massachusetts, USA, in the midst of of open land bordering the Merrimack River and Plum Island Sound...
, Stephen Phillips HouseStephen Phillips HouseThe Stephen Phillips House is a historic house and museum located in the in the Chestnut Street District, in Salem, Massachusetts, USA.Phillips House began with Elias Hasket Derby, one of America's first self-made millionaires from the sea trade. When he died in 1799, his daughter, Elizabeth and...
and Swett-Ilsley HouseSwett-Ilsley HouseThe Swett-Ilsley House is a much extended Colonial house located at 4 High Road, Newbury, Massachusetts, USA. It is now owned by Historic New England, formerly the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities , and operated as a study museum.The house's original section was built in...
. - New Hampshire: Barrett House, Gilman Garrison HouseGilman Garrison HouseGilman Garrison House is a historic house at 12 Water Street in Exeter, New Hampshire owned by Historic New England, which operates the home as a house museum....
, Richard Jackson HouseRichard Jackson HouseThe Richard Jackson House in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA, is the oldest surviving wood frame house in New Hampshire or Maine. This National Historic Landmark was built in 1664 by Richard Jackson, a woodworker, farmer, and mariner, on his family's plot. Jackson's house resembles English...
, Governor John Langdon HouseGovernor John Langdon HouseThe Governor John Langdon House, also known as Governor John Langdon Mansion, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA, is a mansion house built in 1784 by John Langdon, that is now a National Historic Landmark. Langdon was a merchant, shipbuilder, American Revolutionary War general, signer of the United...
, and Rundlet-May HouseRundlet-May HouseThe Rundlet-May House in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA, was built in 1807 by James Rundlet, who acquired his wealth in the textile trade. Rundlet imported his wallpapers from England and purchased his furniture from local cabinetmakers, whose work was noted for its fine craftsmanship and striking...
. - Rhode Island: Arnold HouseEleazer Arnold HouseThe Eleazer Arnold House is a historic house built for Eleazor Arnold in about 1693, and located at 487 Great Road, Lincoln, Rhode Island in the Great Road Historic District...
, Casey FarmCasey FarmCasey Farm in Saunderstown, Rhode Island, USA, is a historic farm established around 1750.-History:This mid 18th-century farmstead overlooking Narragansett Bay was the center of a plantation that produced food for local and foreign markets...
, Clemence-Irons HouseClemence-Irons HouseThe Clemence-Irons House is an historic residential home in Johnston, Rhode Island, USA. It was built by Richard Clemence in 1691 and is a rare surviving example of a "stone ender," a once common building type first developed in the western part of England. The structure is on the U.S...
, Watson FarmWatson FarmWatson Farm in Jamestown, Rhode Island, USA, was established in 1789. Job Watson purchased a piece of the farmland, and for the next two centuries, five successive generations of the Watson family cultivated the land, changing their crops and practices as needed to adapt to the evolving...
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Function rentals at Historic New England properties
The Lyman EstateLyman Estate
The Lyman Estate 37 acres , formerly known as The Vale, is a historic country house located at 185 Lyman Street, Waltham, Massachusetts. It is now owned by the nonprofit Historic New England organization...
in Waltham, Mass., and the Codman House
Codman House
Codman House is a historic house set on a estate at 36 Codman Road, Lincoln, Massachusetts. Thanks to a gift by Dorothy Codman, it has been owned by Historic New England since 1969 and is open to the public June 1–October 15 on the first and third Saturdays of the month...
Carriage House in Lincoln, Mass., provide unique historic settings for private functions ranging from weddings to corporate events and training programs. The grounds of the historic Governor John Langdon House
Governor John Langdon House
The Governor John Langdon House, also known as Governor John Langdon Mansion, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA, is a mansion house built in 1784 by John Langdon, that is now a National Historic Landmark. Langdon was a merchant, shipbuilder, American Revolutionary War general, signer of the United...
in Portsmouth, N.H. are also available for weddings and private events.
The Lyman Estate
Lyman Estate
The Lyman Estate 37 acres , formerly known as The Vale, is a historic country house located at 185 Lyman Street, Waltham, Massachusetts. It is now owned by the nonprofit Historic New England organization...
, also known as The Vale, was built in 1793 by wealthy shipping magnate Theodore Lyman. Originally used as a summer home, the Federal-style mansion was designed by renowned Salem architect Samuel McIntire. The Estate remained in the Lyman family until 1952, when the five Lyman heirs donated it to the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, now known as Historic New England. The property is now a National Historic Landmark and is available for rental for weddings and private parties.
The Codman House
Codman House
Codman House is a historic house set on a estate at 36 Codman Road, Lincoln, Massachusetts. Thanks to a gift by Dorothy Codman, it has been owned by Historic New England since 1969 and is open to the public June 1–October 15 on the first and third Saturdays of the month...
grounds are a prospect of farm and pleasure grounds, a gentleman's country seat that was a powerful force in the lives of five generations of the Codman family. In the 1790s, John Codman carried out extensive improvements to the original Georgian house and surrounding grounds. Each generation of Codmans to live here left their mark, and the estate that was originally a country retreat gradually came to symbolize the family's distinguished past. The grounds feature a hidden Italianate garden, c. 1900, with perennial beds, statuary, and a reflecting pool filled with waterlilies, as well as an English cottage garden, c. 1930. The Codman estate Carriage House is available as a site for weddings and other private events, and wedding ceremonies may take place in the beautiful Italian Garden.
The grounds of the Governor John Langdon House
Governor John Langdon House
The Governor John Langdon House, also known as Governor John Langdon Mansion, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA, is a mansion house built in 1784 by John Langdon, that is now a National Historic Landmark. Langdon was a merchant, shipbuilder, American Revolutionary War general, signer of the United...
, located in the center of Portsmouth, N.H., with easy access from Boston, may be rented for weddings and other occasions. John Langdon rose from modest origins to become a merchant, shipbuilder, Revolutionary leader, signer of the United States Constitution, and three-term governor of New Hampshire. The house he built for his family expresses his status as Portsmouth's leading citizen and was praised by George Washington, who visited there in 1789. Its reception rooms -- of a grand scale suited to ceremonial occasions -- are ornamented by elaborate wood carving in the rococo style. After Langdon's death in 1819, the house was occupied by other leading families. At the end of the 19th century, Langdon descendants purchased the house and restored it to its 18th-century glory, adding on a substantial wing designed by McKim, Mead, and White to house modern conveniences
Modern conveniences
Modern conveniences or Mod cons are labor-saving devices that make a task easier to perform than a traditional method. Because of the historical use of the term, and the differences in lifestyles around the world, the term is a relative term based upon the conveniences previously available to a...
. The handsome garden, dating from the same era, features restored perennial beds, a rose and grape arbor, and a pavilion.
See also
- The Trustees of ReservationsThe Trustees of ReservationsThe Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest regional land trust in the world and has 100,000 dues-paying members...
- National Trust for Historic PreservationNational Trust for Historic PreservationThe National Trust for Historic Preservation is an American member-supported organization that was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods through a range of programs and activities, including the publication of Preservation...
- List of historic houses in Massachusetts