More than 70 history buffs got the inside scoop on where to look when tracing the background of a historic house on Thursday, Feb. 20 at the Museum of Old Newbury. Longtime researcher Ellie Bailey, who researches old houses for the Newburyport Preservation Trust’s historic house plaque program, kicked off the presentation of “Researching Your…
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.
It was just last month the Newburyport Preservation Trust presented our annual awards for local preservation efforts. Here’s Ken Jackman, who along with his wife Kristen Jackman, received an award for the historic restoration of the slate roof on their home at 114 State St., Newburyport. That’s a semi-birdseye view of the house on the…
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…
