Cornelius Coolidge (August 30, 1778 - September 4, 1843) was a real estate developer in early 19th-century

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, who constructed buildings in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood, and elsewhere. As a young man he had been involved in maritime trade, but not always within the prescribed laws. During the War of 1812, the brig ''Dispatch'' owned by Coolidge and Francis Oliver was captured outside Boston Harbor by the Salem privateer ''Castigator'' on suspicion of trading with the enemy. Coolidge and Oliver operated two boats with 45 armed men, rowed down the harbor, and regained their brig after an exchange of gunfire. However, the district court restored the brig to the privateers. Described variously as an architect, housewright, builder, designer, and real estate broker,

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

-educated Coolidge brought many buildings into being. Clients of Coolidge & Co. included some of Boston's more prominent residents, such as David Sears and Charles Francis Adams. He conducted business with John Hubbard, Joseph Morton (brother of Perez Morton) and others. He was also a proprietor of the Boston Mill Corporation. Around 1825, Coolidge and Nathaniel Amory began developing property in Nahant, Massachusetts, for construction of summer homes. The first homes sold in 1827. Clients included David Sears and others. On Beacon Hill, Coolidge built houses on Chestnut, Mount Vernon, Acorn, Joy and Beacon Streets, including Louisburg Square. Several remain in existence, including: * 33 Beacon Street ( George Parkman house), 1825. * 50 Chestnut Street ( Francis Parkman house), 1830s. Coolidge led an active social life. He was one of the first subscribers to the Boston Athenaeum. He attended the gala opening dinner party for the newly built Tremont House hotel on October 16, 1829, along with mayor Josiah Quincy,

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the 14th and 19th United States Secretary of State, U.S. secretary o ...

, Edward Everett, Harrison Gray Otis, and others.

References

Further reading