#15 Osgood Farm, 116 Osgood Rd., Andover

Historic farm started as half a house

In 1699, Hannah Blanchard married Stephen Osgood. Her father gave this land and his father gave the money for their first house. Originally it was only half a house, two rooms up and down, and a staircase. The door with the triangular pediment, and the part of the house to its left in this photo, are that original house.

Thirty years later, Hannah and Stephen's second son, Issac, inherited the farm. A captain in the French and Indian War, he wore a wig to remind people of this status. So in 1739, when he enlarged the house, he embellished it with both a triangular and a half-round pediment over the doors, and cornices (hoods) over the large windows. His expansion was really just the usual center chimney house set against the existing structure. The hip roof, not common in that day, was built to accommodate the intersecting roofs.

The original house had faced west, sited to the south of the road and highly unusual for those times. One theory is that the house may have been sited this way in order to stand over the well, which is still located under the floor in the dining room. There also appears to have been a door on the north side of the house toward the road. With the 1739 addition, the house faced west and south, with a view across the creek (which circles the knoll and winds over the meadows). But the visitor approaching down Osgood Street from Andover comes awkwardly to the back of the house.

Note that the two maple trees in the photograph will leaf out and shield the house from summer sun - shutters were also added in the 1900s. Since this photograph was taken, sometime in the late 1800's the house suffered a serious fire that destroyed the front door with its curved pediment. The scarred beams are still there.

Here's an interesting bit of trivia about the house - Jacob Osgood, son of Issac, invited James Otis, Revolutionary orator and lawyer, to convalesce at his home after a head injury. Mr. Otis lived there for two years and taught school. He was killed by lightening on May 23, 1783, while standing in the front door.

#1 - The Abbot House, Andover St., Andover, c1685

Benjamin Abbot House is one of the Valley's oldest

One of the oldest in the Merrimack Valley, this house on Andover Street, Andover, has some ceilings less than 6 feet high and badly sloping floors. It was built in a classic early New England style, with a door in the middle, two windows on each side, and 5 above. The original house had one room down and one up, with the chimney serving both fireplaces. Although it was a substantial farmhouse for its time, with paneled walls in the front room, by the time of the photograph the house looked quite modest. Or is it just a winter photograph? We today are lucky that no one before us tore it down in the name of progress.

Note the shed to the right covering the well, and the granite at the front corner to protect the house from road traffic - the road is still right there.

Early New England houses were built "to the weather," so this house faces south, with a view (now blocked) across its fields to the Shawsheen River. Its back and long roof are to the north, protecting it from winter winds. The front and side doors are set forward to create weather entrances: two sets of doors to keep out the cold in winter. The central chimney radiated so much heat into the house that in the summer cooking was moved from the main hall to the summer kitchen to allow the chimney to cool down. The chimney is formed with brick pilasters (ribs) as were the English chimneys of the era. This is one way to spot a very old house in New England.
In this house, since there is no fireplace for the upper left room, and wheat and chaff have been found between the floor boards, it is thought the room may have been used for storage. However since it is on the southwest corner and gets hot afternoon sun while being shielded from the north by the out buildings, the room stays quite warm without extra heat.

This was the first column I wrote, so I've added some notes as of this posting - my writing has definitely improved over time, especially as I learned to talk about one architectural idea per house.
The caption under the first photograph reads: "The Abbot House, a center chimney, center entrance colonial, was built about 1685. The salt box was added about 1715. "
The second photo was taken in 1989, showing how little the house has been changed in 300 years.

#82 - Parson Capen House, 1 Howlett St., Topsfield, MA, 1683 (03/01/92)

House Puritans built for parson was best in 1683 Topsfield

The Puritans came to New england to create a new world, a utopia based on their religious convictions. So, in 1682, when the Puritans of Topsfield asked Joseph Capen to be their new minister, the most important position in town, the house they built for him was one of the biggest and best. One indication of this was the glass in the windows - it had to be brought all the way from England by boat.

The style of the four room house was that of the medieval cottages the Topsfield citizens remembered from England, with steep roofs and massive chimneys. Those cottages provided simple shelter - the door was just an opening, as were the windows. The ornaments -wooden drops - were placed at the corners of the house, at the second floor and roof overhangs, drawing attention to the mass of the house, not the elements. The whole, whether that be the house, the family, or the community, was what mattered, not the individual.

This historic house is now open to the public in the summer. Visitors can look out across part of the 12 acres of land the Topsfield community gave their new minister. In England only the lords owned the land, but here the people could own the land they worked and be independent. For example, widows did not have to remarry, but could maintain themselves on their own land. Many of the women accused of witchcraft at the Salem witch trials in 1692 were widows living independently.