66 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
February, 1909 
A Seventeenth Century Homestead 
By Alice M. Kellogg 
=) 1) most ardent lover of antique furniture 
# never realizes the full potency of its 
charm until he sees it suitably environed. 
It is not uncommon to find, in New 
England homes, valuable and extensive 
collections of old furniture, but their 
significance is often lessened by the addi- 
tion of modern furnishings of inferior type. The architec- 
tural setting, too, is an important factor in assisting or 
dispelling the old-time illusion created by furniture of an 
early period. 
In a Massachusetts homestead of the seventeenth century 
all the attributes that are essential to a unified, convincing 
background for old 
furniture are happily 
present. Of our up- 
to-date improvements 
only the actual neces- 
sities for comfort, 
in plumbing and 
heating, have been 
admitted, and, undis- 
turbed by alien 
surroundings, the his- 
SLAG 
toric and _ pictoral 
atmosphere of the 
past pervades the 
premises. 
From the date of 
construction in 1690 
and its location in the 
Province of Massa- 
chusetts Bay, one 
might imagine the 
house to be identified 
with the excitements 
of Puritan times; but 
its record is unvary- 
ingly uneventful ex- 
cept that its generous 
roof-tree sheltered on 
various occasions sev- 
eral people of note. 
One of its unique 
claims for attention, 
and the probable 
cause of its good 
preservation, is its oc- 
cupation for nearly 
two hundred years, in 
fact until the present 
The front porch 
tenant’s possession, by successive generations of one family. 
In its original state the homestead comprised eighteen 
rooms and was without the ‘“‘chaise house’ at the right. 
Another addition is the classic front porch, which may have 
been inspired by a visit to Salem and a study of its late- 
Colonial doorways. 
The substantial framework of oak was upheld by walls 
of twelve-inch thickness which were formed by layers of 
brick. ‘This sturdiness of structure was intended for a pro- 
tection against the attacks of the Indians—so say some 
chroniclers—or for resisting the bitter winds of winter. The 
window glasses were the smallest oblongs made and their 
separating bars of wood were thick and shaped by hand. 
The exterior coloring 
at the present time is 
a pleasant gray on 
roof and sides, with 
trimmings of white 
paint and blinds of a 
dark green. 
A portion of the in- 
terior woodwork has 
been untouched by 
any finish except the 
housewife’s _ cleanly 
care and the darken- 
ing of time, a combi- 
nation that has 
produced an _inde- 
scribably soft brown 
tone and rich gloss. 
In the other rooms 
and in the hall the 
woodwork is painted 
white. 
The projection of 
the front portico has 
contributed a space 
similar to a vestibule 
to the _ contracted 
lines of the entrance 
hall, and the addition 
of side windows in- 
creases the lighting 
advantageously. The 
wallpaper in the hall 
is a Colonial design 
in neutral colors. A 
miniature copy of a 
tall “grandfather’s 
clock’”’ stands on a 
