Reprinted from the Newburyport Daily News on March 14, 2026 NEWBURYPORT — While still months away, folks interested in including their property in this year’s iteration of “If This House Could Talk” are being urged to dive into the story of their home. “The event happens the last week of July, but people really have…
If This House Could Talk begins on July 26, coinciding with the start of Yankee Homecoming. Homeowners are encouraged to hang a poster to share a story or information about their house or the people who have lived in it. Need inspiration? Read some of the stories from past participants. When Nicholas Lake, a merchant…
The five-unit row house from 5-13 Beck St. is a good example of the multiple-family residences built throughout Newburyport during the prosperity of the textile mills. The James Steam Mills was just a short distance away on Charles Street. Built as an investment property by Sewell B. Noyes in 1877, all units were individually sold…
If you ask people what they know about the history of the Pink House, you may hear the story of it being a “spite house” – a replica of a house built on a forsaken piece of land as part of a nasty divorce settlement. The complete story, while still unseemly, is a bit more complex and has been corroborated by two independent research efforts.
The American Yacht Club located at the foot of Lime Street was officially established in 1885 by a group of prominent Newburyport residents. The club has been located at two different locations and had three different clubhouses. The Newburyport Preservation Trust just honored the club with a historic plaque for its current clubhouse built in 1908.
The house at 1 Brown St., near the entrance to Oak Hill Cemetery, has a deep and unique history in Newbury and Newburyport. Originally built as the “Town House”aka a town hall for Newbury in 1819, the building served as the site for Newbury town meetings from 1819 to 1851. In 1851, the property was annexed into the City of Newburyport.
The house on the north corner of Olive and Russia Streets in Newburyport, 22 Olive Street, is a classic example of mid-19th-century architecture. It is a substantial two-story brick house originally built by Moody Pearson in 1838 for his family of eight. Moody Pearson started his career selling fish, wheat, wood, and vegetables on John…
Researching the history of Newburyport homes often leads to the discovery of interesting facts that provide a deeper understanding of our city’s development. An analysis of Deacon Joshua Beck’s will of 1747 more clearly defines a three-and-a-half acre parcel of land on the south side of Newburyport including most of Beck and School Streets. Deacon…
When researching the history of 340 Merrimac Street, near Merrimac Court, it was evident from the structural features of the foundation that the house had been moved. But from where? The homeowner “heard from a neighbor” that the house had been moved but stories about houses being moved in Newburyport are widely circulated but rarely…
People who have lived in the North End of Newburyport for a long time or who grew up there might be aware that the brick house at the corner of Kent and Russia streets was once a school but for most area residents this long-ago identity will come as a surprise. At first glance the…
