Georgian

Wells-Thorn House, Deerfield, Massachusetts

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The Wells-Thorn House at the corner of Old Main Street and Memorial Street in Deerfield, in November 1959. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey Collection.

The house in 2023:

This house was built around 1747 as the home of Ebenezer Wells (1691-1758) and his wife Abigail Barnard (1691-1772). They had no children, but their household here included at least two enslaved people: Lucy Terry (c.1733-1821) and Caesar (baptized 1734). Lucy is best remembered today for being the author of the poem “Bars Fight,” earliest known work of African American literature. The poem memorializes those who were killed during a 1746 Native American raid on a group of families that were working in the meadows, or “bars,” near the village. It seems unclear when the poem was first put down on paper, but it remained an oral tradition for more than a century before it was published by Josiah Gilbert Holland in his 1855 book History of Western Massachusetts. According to Holland, the poem reads:

August ’twas the twenty-fifth,
Seventeen hundred forty-six;
The Indians did in ambush lay,
Some very valient men to slay,
The names of whom I’ll not leave out.
Samuel Allen like a hero fout,
And though he was so brave and bold,
His face no more shall we behold.
Eleazer Hawks was killed outright,
Before he had time to fight,—
Before he did the Indians see,
Was shot and killed immediately.
Oliver Amsden he was slain,
Which caused his friends much grief and pain.
Simeon Amsden they found dead,
Not many rods distant from his head.
Adonijah Gillett we do hear
Did lose his life which was so dear.
John Sadler fled across the water,
And thus escaped the dreadful slaughter.
Eunice Allen see the Indians coming,
And hopes to save herself by running,
And had not her petticoats stopped her,
The awful creatures had not catched her,
Nor tommy hawked her on her head,
And left her on the ground for dead.
Young Samuel Allen, Oh lack-a-day!
Was taken and carried to Canada.

Because the raid happened only a year or so before this house was built, it is possible that Lucy was living in the house when she composed the poem. But either way, she appears to have lived here until at least 1756, when she married Abijah Prince, a free Black man who was from Curaçao. An article written by the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association suggests that the wedding may have occurred here in this house, as was customary for the time. Lucy appears to have gained her freedom around this time, and she and Abijah lived on the eastern part of the Wells property early in their marriage. By 1764, they had moved to Guilford, Vermont, where they owned land. Abijah died in 1794, and Lucy eventually moved to Sunderland, Vermont, where she died in 1821.

In the meantime, Ebenezer and Abigail Wells lived here until Ebenezer’s death in 1758. He left the house to his nephew Ebenezer Wells (1730-1783), and Abigail subsequently moved to Northampton. The younger Ebenezer lived here for the rest of his life, as did his wife Mercy Bardwell (1737-1801). Their son David then inherited the property, but sold it to lawyer Hezekiah W. Strong (1768-1848).

Strong repainted the house to a bright robins egg blue color, evidently in the hopes of drawing attention to his law practice. However, he only remained in town for a few years, and he sold it in 1804 to John Dwight. The house was later owned by the Ware family for most of the 19th century, and then in 1905 it was sold to Edwin (1874-1920) and Luanna (1874-1965) Thorn. Edwin was a physician, but both he and Luanna were involved in the Deerfield Arts & Crafts movement. They produced colonial-inspired household goods, including furniture and textiles, and they sold them out of a shop here in their home.

Edwin Thorn died in 1920, but Luanna outlived him by many decades. She was still living in the house when the top photo was taken in 1959, as part of the documentation of the house by the Historic American Buildings Survey. She eventually sold the property to Historic Deerfield in 1962, and the house has since been restored and opened to the public as a museum. On the interior, each room is decorated to match a different time period, beginning in the early 18th century and going through the mid 19th century. On the exterior, the house has been painted the same shade of blue that Hezekiah Strong had used in the early 19th century, as shown in the 2023 photo.

John Nims House, Deerfield, Massachusetts

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The house at 58 Old Main Street in Deerfield, on July 24, 1930. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leon Abdalian Collection.

The house in 2023:

These two photos show the Nims House, which is one of the many historic homes that line Old Main Street in Deerfield. The exact date of construction is unclear, but it stands on the site of an earlier home that was owned by Godfrey Nims in the late 17th century. The earlier house was burned during the February 29, 1704 raid on Deerfield, and three of his children died in the fire. Most of his surviving family members were taken captive and marched to Canada, and his wife Mehitable died several days into the march. Godfrey himself was not taken captive, but he died just a year later, in 1705.

The current house is traditionally said to have been built around 1710 by Godfrey’s son John Nims, who had been among the captives. He survived the ordeal and returned to Deerfield, where he married his wife Elizabeth Hull in 1707. However, recent dendrochronological analysis by William Flynt of Historic Deerfield has called this date into question. The timbers in the house reflected a wide range of ages, but indicated that the house could have been built no earlier than the early 1720s, and probably had significant alterations done in the 1740s. The gambrel roof is not original to the house, but rather was added sometime around the early 1790s.

Regardless of exactly when it was constructed, the house would remain in the Nims family for many generations. During the early 19th century it was owned by Seth Nims, who operated a post office here in the house from around 1816 until his death in 1831. The house was ultimately sold out of the family in 1894.

The top photo was taken in 1930, showing both the Nims house and also the neighboring Barnard Tavern in the distance on the left. A few years later, in 1936, the house was purchased by Nims descendants who, in turn, donated it to Deerfield Academy in 1938. The house is still owned by the school, and it serves as a faculty residence. As shown in the bottom photo, the house has seen only minimal changes since the top photo was taken nearly a century ago.

Joseph Barnard House, Deerfield, Massachusetts

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The Joseph Barnard House, also known as the Willard House or the Old Manse, on Old Main Street in Deerfield, around 1920. Image from An Architectural Monograph on Old Deerfield (1920).

The house in 2023:

Old Main Street in Deerfield is one of the best-preserved colonial-era town centers in New England, and it features many excellent examples of 18th and early 19th century architecture. However, this house stands out as perhaps the finest of these, representing sophisticated Georgian architecture here in what was, at the time, a very rural part of colonial Massachusetts.

The house was constructed starting in 1769, and it was completed in 1772. It was designed and built by Jonas Locke, and the original owner of the house was Joseph Barnard, a wealthy local merchant. Whether he actually lived here seems unclear, though, and he may have built it for his son Samuel. In any case, the house was owned by the Barnard family until 1794, when it was sold to Ebenezer Williams. He eventually sold it in 1811 to the Rev. Samuel Willard, for $3,333.

Rev. Willard was the nephew of Harvard president Joseph Willard, and he had become the pastor of the church in Deerfield in 1807. It was during his pastorate that, in 1824, the church constructed its brick meetinghouse that still stands across the street from his house. However, Willard retired from his position at the church in 1829 due to progressive blindness. He briefly moved to Hingham, but then returned to Deerfield and lived here in this house until his death in 1859.

The top photo shows the house in the early 20th century. By that point, the house had apparently undergone some alterations, including the installation of exterior shutters and 6-over-6 windows, along with 2-over-2 dormer windows, none of were likely to have been original to the house. However, the exterior has since been restored, and today the house has 12-over-12 windows, in keeping with colonial-era architecture. The house is now owned by Deerfield Academy, and it serves as the residence for the head of school.

Pellet-Barrett House, Concord, Massachusetts

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The house at 5 Lexington Road in Concord, around 1895-1905. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

The house in 2023:

The house in these two photos stands on the north side of Lexington Road, just to the east of Monument Square in the center of Concord. The main portion of the house was built around 1728-1729, but according to its MACRIS inventory form, the rear wing of the house is even older, possibly dating to the 1670s. Assuming that date is accurate, the earliest owner of the house appears to have been Mary Dane Pellet, who lived here with her husband Thomas Pellet. The property remained in the Pellet family until 1706, when their son Daniel Pellet sold it to Josiah Blood. By 1728 the house was owned by Edward Flint, and then by the 1730s by Benjamin Barrett.

The main portion of the house, with the gambrel roof, appears to have been built by either Flint or Barrett. Subsequent 18th century owners included Ezekiel Brown Jr., a merchant who fell into debt in the years leading up to the American Revolution. His creditors had him imprisoned in Boston, during which time he studied medicine and later served as a surgeon in the Continental Army during the Revolution. However, after the war his creditors again pursued him, and he landed in jail in the late 1780s and ultimately lost his house.

The next owner was Abel Barrett, who purchased it from Brown’s creditor in 1792. The Barrett family owned it until 1818, and then sold it to Elisha Tolman, a shoemaker and church deacon who lived here until his death in 1858. According to the MACRIS inventory, Tolman likely made shoes in the wing on the west side of the house, in the distance on the left side of this scene. His son Benjamin subsequently acquired the property, and he and his wife Anne continued to own it throughout the rest of the 19th century, although it appears to have been used as a rental property for some of that time.

By the time the top photo was taken at the turn of the 20th century, the house was still owned by the Tolman family. However, the Tolmans sold it in 1908, and then a year later it was purchased by the Old Concord Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Under the leadership of Harriet Lothrop, a noted children’s book author and historic preservationist, the DAR restored the house and used it as its headquarters for many years. During this time, the DAR added a wing on the back of the house in 1929. The organization ultimately sold the house in 1951.

Today, more than a century after the top photo was taken, there have not been very many changes to this scene. Both this house and the neighboring house to the left are still standing, as is the Colonial Inn in the distance on the far left side. The house is now apartments, with four units according to the town assessor’s property card. It stands as one of the many surviving 18th century homes that line Lexington Road, and it is a contributing property in the the Concord Monument Square–Lexington Road Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Lexington Road, Concord, Massachusetts

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The view looking east on Lexington Road in Concord, around 1895-1905. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

The scene in 2023:

These two photos show the row of historic homes that line the north side of Lexington Road, just to the east of the town center of Concord. Most of these homes have been featured in more detail in previous posts, including, starting in the foreground on the left side, the c.1752-1753 John Ball House. The next house, which does not yet have its own individual post on this site, is located at 47 Lexington Road, and it is said to have been built around 1650 as the home of Thomas Dale, although it was later enlarged in the 18th century. Beyond it is the c.1817 Captain John Adams House, and farther in the distance is the c.1720 Reuben Brown Saddler’s Shop and the c.1720 Reuben Brown House.

More than a century later, all of the houses from the top photo are still standing. A few of the trees also appear to be the same, including the elm in the foreground and the large sycamore in the distant center of the scene. Because of its level of preservation, and because of the road’s association with the Battle of Concord at the start of the American Revolution, this section of Lexington Road is part of the Concord Monument Square–Lexington Road Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

John Ball House, Concord, Massachusetts

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The house at 37 Lexington Road in Concord, around 1895-1905. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

The scene in 2023:

The house in these two photos was built around 1752-1753 by John Ball, a silversmith who lived in the neighboring house to the east. He does not appear to have personally lived in this house, because he sold it in 1753. According to the house’s MACRIS inventory form, the house had a series of owners during the 18th and early 19th centuries. From the mid-1750s until 1773 it was owned by Joseph Butler, a tavern keeper who later served as a militia captain at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolution. In 1773 it was purchased by Thomas Cordis. He died young, and his widow Elizabeth remarried to Jonas Lee, and they lived here in this house until her death in 1808. Jonas then remarried to Martha Abbott, and then to Rebecca Colburn. It was in 1815, while he was married to Rebecca, that Jonas Lee enlarged the house with the large wing on the right side of the house.

The Lee family sold the house in 1827, and it saw a variety of owners throughout the rest of the 19th and into the 20th centuries. The top photo was taken around the turn of the 20th century, when it was owned by the Walcott family. It would remain a private residence until 1922, when artist Elizabeth Wentworth Roberts purchased it for the Concord Art Association. She had founded the association five years earlier, and this building became its first permanent home.

More than a century later, the Concord Art Association is still headquartered here, as shown in the bottom photo. Remarkably little has changed here in this scene, aside from the removal of the historically inappropriate shutters, and even the large elm in the foreground appears to be the same one that was growing here when the top photo was taken.