Stotham, Massachusetts
Encyclopedia
Stotham is a fictitious town in Massachusetts
, United States
which was invented by the publishers of the White Pine Series of Architectural Monographs
as the purported locale of a number of photographs of New England structures which had been edited out of earlier location-specific issues of the bi-monthly series.
Their article about the town was printed in April 1920 under an epigram from Thomas Gray
's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
":
The introduction presented a description of the character and history of Stotham invented by author Hubert G. Ripley. According to his introduction, "When Zabdiel Podbury fled from Stoke-on-Tritham in the Spring of 1689 with Drusilla Ives, taking passage on the bark Promise, sailing for Massachusetts Bay, it was not realized at the time that, from this union, and the joint labors of the Penthesilean pair, the village of Stotham (so named by them in memory of their autochthonous abode) would in later days come to be regarded as a typical example, although, perhaps, not so well known, of the unspoiled New England Village."
Some of the town's buildings were credited to fictional "town architect" Ruben Duren. The "Rogers Mansion" was given a legend of buried treasure and a ghost.
The fiction was uncovered by cataloguers at the Library of Congress
in the 1940s. Department head Leicester B. Holland asked Russell B. Whitehead, editor of the White Pine series, about the mysterious town, eliciting a full explanation. The matter was explored in a 1964 article in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians and explained in the 1987 reprinting of the monographs as The Architectural Treasures of Early America.
. The "Cadwallader Simpkins House" is actually the Aspinwall Davis House
in Brookline, Massachusetts
(Actually this house is not the Aspinwall Davis House). The "Salmon White House" is actually the Abram Mitchell House in Chester, Connecticut
. The "Podbury-Ives House" is an unnamed house from Bedford, Massachusetts
. The "Heman Billings House" is, in truth, the Champion House of East Haddam, Connecticut
. The "Uriel Underwood House" is the Wheeler House in Oxford, New Hampshire. and the "First Meeting House of the Stotham Congregational Society" is, in fact, the North Congregational Church of Woodbury, Connecticut
.
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
which was invented by the publishers of the White Pine Series of Architectural Monographs
White Pine Series of Architectural Monographs
The White Pine Series of Architectural Monographs, subtitled "A Bi-Monthly Publication Suggesting the Architectural Use of White Pine and Its Availability Today as a Structural Wood", was a landmark publication of drawings, photographs and descriptions of early American architecture...
as the purported locale of a number of photographs of New England structures which had been edited out of earlier location-specific issues of the bi-monthly series.
Their article about the town was printed in April 1920 under an epigram from Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray was a poet, letter-writer, classical scholar and professor at Cambridge University.-Early life and education:...
's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard is a poem by Thomas Gray, completed in 1750 and first published in 1751. The poem’s origins are unknown, but it was partly inspired by Gray’s thoughts following the death of the poet Richard West in 1742. Originally titled Stanza's Wrote in a Country...
":
Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife,
Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray;
Along the cool sequester'd vale of life
They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.
The introduction presented a description of the character and history of Stotham invented by author Hubert G. Ripley. According to his introduction, "When Zabdiel Podbury fled from Stoke-on-Tritham in the Spring of 1689 with Drusilla Ives, taking passage on the bark Promise, sailing for Massachusetts Bay, it was not realized at the time that, from this union, and the joint labors of the Penthesilean pair, the village of Stotham (so named by them in memory of their autochthonous abode) would in later days come to be regarded as a typical example, although, perhaps, not so well known, of the unspoiled New England Village."
Some of the town's buildings were credited to fictional "town architect" Ruben Duren. The "Rogers Mansion" was given a legend of buried treasure and a ghost.
The fiction was uncovered by cataloguers at the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
in the 1940s. Department head Leicester B. Holland asked Russell B. Whitehead, editor of the White Pine series, about the mysterious town, eliciting a full explanation. The matter was explored in a 1964 article in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians and explained in the 1987 reprinting of the monographs as The Architectural Treasures of Early America.
Edifices shown
Only a few of the edifices described in the "Stotham" monograph have been positively identified. The "House on Sandy Point" is actually the Joseph Lynde House in Melrose, MassachusettsMelrose, Massachusetts
-Government:Robert J. Dolan is the mayor. Melrose is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives by Paul Brodeur . Katherine Clark is the state senator for wards 1 through 5 and Thomas McGee is the state senator for wards 6 and 7. Melrose is part of the seventh Congressional...
. The "Cadwallader Simpkins House" is actually the Aspinwall Davis House
Thomas Aspinwall Davis
Thomas Aspinwall Davis was a silversmith and businessman who served as mayor of Boston for nine months in 1845.-Early life:...
in Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
(Actually this house is not the Aspinwall Davis House). The "Salmon White House" is actually the Abram Mitchell House in Chester, Connecticut
Chester, Connecticut
Chester is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,743 at the 2000 census. The town center is also defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place .-Geography:...
. The "Podbury-Ives House" is an unnamed house from Bedford, Massachusetts
Bedford, Massachusetts
Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is within the Greater Boston area, north-west of the city of Boston. The population of Bedford was 13,320 at the 2010 census.- History :...
. The "Heman Billings House" is, in truth, the Champion House of East Haddam, Connecticut
East Haddam, Connecticut
East Haddam is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,333 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....
. The "Uriel Underwood House" is the Wheeler House in Oxford, New Hampshire. and the "First Meeting House of the Stotham Congregational Society" is, in fact, the North Congregational Church of Woodbury, Connecticut
Woodbury, Connecticut
Woodbury is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,198 at the 2000 census. The town center is also designated by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place . Woodbury was founded in 1672....
.