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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
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A House With a History 
By Mary H. Northend 
Photographs by the Author 
WHERE is something especially attractive 
about the quaint old-time house, here de- 
scribed, situated far back from the gaze of 
passersby, in the midst of beautiful grounds, 
which has preserved intact, through all the 
years, its original characteristics. It stands 
of past simplicity in its environment of 
an expression 
modern hurry and progressiveness, but the contrast is in- 
clined to be much in its favor. 
comfort is the chief keynote in its 
construction with due regard given 
to suitable artistic properties, and 
as a result it is most distinctive with 
an air of elegance not always seen, 
perhaps, in homes of more recent 
construction—an example of care- 
ful thought and able, earnest labor. 
Houses of this type are compara- 
tively rare to-day and it is more or 
less in the nature of an unusual oc- 
currence that one is found still re- 
taining all its old-time interest. 
Such houses are all too often torn 
down to make way for modern 
dwellings of up-to-date construc- 
tion, or else are remodeled to suit 
the present day taste, and while in 
the latter event they usually serve 
their purpose well, and still show 
many of the characteristics of their 
early period, they never quite seem 
the same. 
Numbered among the really few 
genuinely old dwellings is one at 
Groveland, Massachusetts, known 
Solidity and unbounded 
The quaint old gateway entrance 
as the Savory House, which in no way has lost its original 
lines, and which dates back to pre-Revolutionary days. It 
is one of the typical, old-time homes combining in construc- 
tion some rather unusual features, and presents both an 
exterior and an interior practically unchanged from the date 
of construction, early in the Fighteenth Century. It 
came into the possession of the Parker family in 1777, hav- 
ing been purchased by one Moses Parker, the great-grand- 
father of the present owner, who obtained it for the con- 
sideration of one thousand pounds 
sterling, and it has since sheltered 
five generations of the same family, 
indirect descent. Inthe days of the 
first Mr. Parker’s occupancy, it 
was the favorite haunt of many of 
the most prominent men of the 
times, Mr. Parker being the chosen 
leader of all town affairs, as well 
as one of the prominent men of the 
day. 
The house differs somewhat in 
construction from the old-time, 
square-frame Colonial dwelling, in- 
asmuch as it has a wing-like pro- 
jection at one end, and two front 
doors. This latter feature seems 
especially unusual, though not with- 
out significance, for each door has 
its special use. The one in the 
main part of the house (a very 
handsome entrance, finely propor- 
tioned, the heavy door adorned 
with a quaint brass knocker, highly 
polished) was used as the com- 
pany entrance only. This opened 
