John C. Lee House, Salem, Massachusetts

The house at 14 Chestnut Street in Salem, probably around 1890-1910. Image courtesy of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum, Frank Cousins Glass Plate Negatives Collection.

The house in 2023:

These two photos show the house at 14 Chestnut Street in Salem, which was built in 1834-1835 as the home of John Clarke Lee. It is one of the newer houses on Chestnut Street, as most of the other homes were built in the first few decades of the 19th century. As a result, it is architecturally different from most of the other homes. While the rest of the street consists primarily of symmetrical, three-story Federal-style homes with hipped roofs, this house is an early example of Greek Revival architecture. It features a gabled roof, and the front façade is decorated with four pilasters that give the house something of the appearance of an ancient Greek temple.

John Clarke Lee was a prominent merchant and banker who later became a partner in the Boston-based investment banking firm of Lee, Higginson & Co. He was about 30 years old when he moved into this house, and by this point he and his wife Harriet already had a large and growing family, with five young children. They subsequently had five more children, and in total all but one of their children lived to adulthood. Among their children was George Cabot Lee, whose daughter Alice Hathaway Lee became the first wife of Theodore Roosevelt.

The house remained in the Lee family for nearly a century. John died in 1877 and Harriet in 1885, but their son Francis inherited the house. He was living here when the top photo was taken around the turn of the 20th century, and he was responsible for adding the porch at the front door, as shown in the two photos. He died in 1913, and his widow Sophia subsequently sold the house in 1924.

The next owner of the house was Frank W. Benson, a prominent Impressionist painter from Salem. He was in his early 60s when he purchased the house, and by this point he had established himself as one of the leading American painters of the early 20th century. Benson was known for his portraits, along with en plein air landscapes of the seacoasts and mountains of New England. He lived here in this house until his death in 1951, at the age of 89.

Today, the house is still standing, with few exterior changes since the top photo was taken more than a century ago. Even the tree on the far left side of the scene appears to be the same one in both photos. Along with the rest of the street, the house is now part of the Chestnut Street District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

James B. Bott House, Salem, Massachusetts

The house at 18 Chestnut Street, at the corner of Bott Street in Salem, probably around 1890-1910. Image courtesy of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum, Frank Cousins Glass Plate Negatives Collection.

The house in 2023:

These two photos show the house at 18 Chestnut Street, which was built around 1800 or possibly earlier. It was originally owned by saddler James B. Bott, and according to the building’s Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System (MACRIS) form, it was likely used as a multi-family residence. It had a number of occupants throughout the first half of the 19th century, but the most famous was author Nathaniel Hawthorne, who lived here with his family in 1846 and 1847 while serving as Surveyor of the the Port of Salem at the Custom House on Derby Street. This house was too small for the Hawthornes, though, and in 1847 they moved to a house on Mall Street, where Nathaniel would later write The Scarlet Letter.

The house was eventually converted into a single-family residence in the late 19th century, and the top photo was taken sometime around the turn of the 20th century. It was taken by photographer Frank Cousins, who extensively documented the historic houses of Salem and other towns in the region. As the bottom photo shows, very little has changed about this scene since then. The house is still standing, as are the other surrounding homes, and Chestnut Street as a whole survives as one of the best-preserved historic streets in New England. The Bott House, along with the other homes on Chestnut Street, is part of the Chestnut Street District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Chestnut Street, Salem, Massachusetts (2)

The view looking east on Chestnut Street from near Pickering Street in Salem, around 1890-1910. Image courtesy of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum, Frank Cousins Glass Plate Negatives Collection.

The scene in 2023:

These two photos were taken from near the same spot as the ones in the previous post, but facing the opposite direction. This view of Chestnut Street, looking east toward Cambridge Street, features a number of early 19th century homes. Starting in the foreground on the right side is a double house at 21-23 Chestnut Street, which was built in 1814-15 for John and Henry Pickering. They were the sons of Timothy Pickering, a prominent politician who served in several different Cabinet positions, including as Secretary of State under George Washington and John Adams.

Although built for the Pickering brothers, they evidently did not own these houses for long, because each properly changed hands several times over the next few decades. By the 1830s, the house closest to the foreground, at 23 Chestnut, was owned by Robert Stone, while the adjoining house at 21 Chestnut was owned by Elisha Mack. In 1833, during President Andrew Jackson’s visit to Salem, Robert Stone hosted a reception here at his house, which Jackson attended along with Vice President Martin Van Buren, several Cabinet secretaries, and other dignitaries.

Further in the distance on the right side of the street is 19 Chestnut, which is visible in the center of both photos. This three-story, wood-frame house was built around 1805, and it was originally the home of merchant Israel Williams. Later in the 19th century it was owned by another merchant, Henry W. Peabody, and then in the early 20th century it was owned by architect William G. Rantoul.

Today, more than a century after the top photo was taken, these houses are still standing, as are the other ones further in the distance on both sides of the street. Chestnut Street survives as a well-preserved example of Federal-style architecture, and it is the centerpiece of the Chestnut Street District on the National Register of Historic Places. However, this scene is also notable because of the elm tree that still stands in the foreground. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the street was lined with elms. Most of these were subsequently lost, likely due to hurricanes and Dutch Elm Disease, but this tree has survived, and it is still easily recognizable from its appearance in the top photo.

Devereux-Hoffman House, Salem, Massachusetts

The house at 26 Chestnut Street in Salem, probably around 1906-1910. Image courtesy of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum, Frank Cousins Glass Plate Negatives Collection.

The house in 2023:

These two photos show one of the many historic early 19th century homes that line Chestnut Street in Salem. The street was laid out in 1796, and over the next few decades it was developed with large Federal-style homes for the merchants and other wealthy Salem residents. This particular house was built around 1826-1827 as the home of Humphrey and Eliza Devereux. The architect of the house is unknown, but its design is consistent with the other homes of this period on Chestnut Street, which were heavily influenced by the designs of Samuel McIntire.

Humphrey Devereux was a merchant and ship owner, and early in his career he spent time at sea, including making voyages to Europe and the East Indies. During the War of 1812, his ship was captured by the British, and he spent time as a prisoner in Bermuda. He later retired from life at sea, and instead focused on running his mercantile business from Salem.

He married his wife Eliza Dodge in 1809, and they had two children. Their son, George Humphrey Devereux, was born in 1809, and their daughter Mary Ann Cabot Devereux was born in 1812. They moved into this house around 1827, but Eliza died soon after, in 1828. Humphrey continued to live here for at least another decade, but by the 1840s he was living a few houses down the street from here, at 34 Chestnut Street.

This house was subsequently owned by another merchant, Charles Hoffman. Originally from Hamburg, Germany, he later immigrated to America, where he became one of Salem’s leading merchants in the West African trade during the mid-19th century, and he imported goods such as hides, palm oil, and nuts. He moved into this house a few years after his 1840 marriage to his second wife, Eliza King.

Charles and Eliza did not have any children, and the census records from the late 19th century show that they lived here alone except for two live-in servants. Aside from his business interests, Charles was also an amateur horticulturalist, and his house was well known for its well-maintained gardens and its greenhouses in the back of the house. He lived here until his death in 1878, but Eliza continued to live here into the early 20th century. The 1900 census shows here living here with her sister Harriet and three servants.

Eliza died in 1905, and the house was subsequently sold to Dr. James E. Simpson. He made some alterations to the house, and converted part of it into offices for his medical practice. This included adding a second entryway on the right side of the house, which served as the entrance to his offices. The top photo was taken within a few years after this work was completed.

The 1910 census shows James Simpson living here with his wife Gertrude, her mother Mary Ropes, and two servants. By 1920, the Simpsons had three servants, and the household also included James’s aunt Fannie. James lived here until his death in 1935, and Gertrude died five years later.

Overall, the house has seen few exterior changes since the top photo was taken. Its ivy-covered brick walls are still easily recognizable from the top photo, and the house stands as one of the many well-preserved Federal-style homes in this part of Salem. Along with the other houses in this area, it is now part of the Chestnut Street District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Old Manse North Parlor, Concord, Massachusetts

The north parlor at the Old Manse in Concord, probably around 1890-1910. Image courtesy of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum, Frank Cousins Glass Plate Negatives Collection.

The scene in 2023:

These two photos show the parlor in the northeast corner of the first floor at the Old Manse. In contrast to the south parlor, which was used primarily by family and close friends, the north parlor was historically a more formal space for entertaining guests, and would have generally had finer decorations and furnishings.

As described in more detail in an earlier post, the Old Manse was built in 1770 as the home of William and Phebe Emerson. William was the pastor of the church in Concord, but he died only a few years later in 1776, while serving as a chaplain in the Continental Army. His successor at the church was Ezra Ripley, who would go on to serve as pastor for 63 years. Ripley also married Emerson’s widow Phebe, and they lived here in this house for the rest of their lives.

The house remained in the Ripley family and their descendants for many years, but the house is best remembered for its association with two prominent writers who lived here early in their careers. From 1834 to 1835, William and Phebe Emerson’s grandson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, lived in the house, and then from 1842 to 1845 the family rented the house to Nathaniel Hawthorne and his newlywed wife Sophia. Both Emerson and Hawthorne used the same upstairs room as their study, and they each wrote some of their earliest published works there.

The top photo shows the north parlor at some point around the turn of the 20th century, when the house was owned by Ezra and Phebe’s granddaughter Sophia Thayer. Her daughter, Sarah Ames, subsequently inherited the house, and she owned it until her death in 1939. Sarah’s husband then donated the house and all of its contents to the Trustees of Reservations, a nonprofit conservation and historic preservation organization in Massachusetts.

Today, the house is still owned by the Trustees and operated as a museum. Here in the North Parlor, the highlights include an 1864 Steinway piano, which is partially visible in the lower right corner of the second photo, and the standing desk beyond it to the right. The desk originally belonged to Ezra Ripley, and it was there that he composed over 3,000 sermons during his more than six decades of ministry at the church.

Old Manse Main Staircase, Concord, Massachusetts (2)

The second floor hallway and staircase at the Old Manse in Concord, probably around 1890-1910. Image courtesy of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum, Frank Cousins Glass Plate Negatives Collection.

The scene in 2023:

These two photos were taken directly above the spot where the ones in a previous post were taken. The photos in the other post show the scene on the first floor, while these two photos show the stairway from the second floor, looing west. As discussed in more detail in other posts, this house was built in 1770 as the home of William and Phebe Emerson. The Emerson family was here when the Battle of Concord occurred in their backyard, and they witnessed the battle from the room on the right side of this hallway, in the northwest corner of the house. However, the house is perhaps best remembered for having briefly been the home of their grandson Ralph Waldo Emerson, and later as the home of Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Ralph Waldo Emerson lived here for about a year from 1834 to 1835. At the time he was a young widower and former pastor who had abandoned the ministry after the death of his first wife. Although he spent a relatively short time here, this was a formative period in his life as he began to develop his Transcendentalist philosophy. His study was located in the same room where his grandparents had watched the battle, and it was there that he wrote his famous essay “Nature,” which had a strong influence on the subsequent Transcendentalist movement.

Emerson moved out of the house after his marriage to his second wife Lidian in 1835. His step grandfather Ezra Ripley, who had owned the house, died in 1841, and starting in 1842 Ezra’s son Samuel rented the house to another young aspiring writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne and his wife Sophia spent their wedding night here in the house in 1842, and they lived here for the next three years, with Hawthorne likewise using the same room as Emerson for his study. While living here, he wrote a number of short stories that were later published as a book, titled Mosses from and Old Manse.

The top photo was taken at some point around the turn of the 20th century by photographer Frank Cousins, who used his camera to document the interiors and exteriors of many historic New England homes. The house was still owned by descendants of the Ripley family, and it remained in the family until 1939, when Ezra and Phebe Ripley’s great granddaughter Sarah Ames died.

After Sarah Ames’s death, her husband donated the house and its contents to the Trustees of Reservations, which continues to operate the house as a museum. It remains well-preserved, and it is still furnished with the Ripley family’s belongings, including many of the items shown here in these photos. The furnishings are not all in the same spot as they were when the top photo was taken, but otherwise the only significant difference is the wallpaper. The current wallpaper, with its trompe l’oeil drapery, is based on the wallpaper that was in the hallway earlier in the 19th century, before the wallpaper in the top photo was installed.