The Jeremiah Lee Mansion is a historic house located in

Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, along the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsu ...

. It is operated as a house museum by the local historical society. Built in 1768, it was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1960 as one of the finest Late Georgian houses in the United States. It features original wallpaper and finely crafted woodwork.

Description

Mrs Jeremiah Lee Martha Swett John Singleton Copley 1769

The mansion is a large wooden house in the Georgian style, with imitation stone

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

facade, built in 1768 by Colonel Jeremiah Lee, at that time the wealthiest merchant and ship owner in the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Eng ...

. The facade may be based on Plate 11 of Robert Morris' influential patternbook ''Rural Architecture'' (London 1750; retitled ''Select Architecture'' in later eds.). The Center for Palladian Studies in America, Inc.
"Palladio and Architectural Patternbooks in Colonial America"
It was one of the largest and most opulent houses of the late-colonial period in America. The mansion is now owned by the Marblehead Museum and Historical Society. It contains a notable collection of early American furniture, and many of the mansion's original decorative finishes have been preserved, including rare 18th-century English hand-painted wallpaper, intricate carving in the rococo style, and a grand entry hall and staircase paneled with mahogany. On either side of its landing are copies of the full-length portraits of Jeremiah and Martha Lee by

John Singleton Copley John Singleton Copley (July 3, 1738 – September 9, 1815) was an Anglo-American painter, active in both colonial America and England. He was believed to be born in Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, to Richard and Mary Singleton Copley ...

. The mansion was declared a

and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1966. In 1984 it was also included in the

Marblehead Historic District The Marblehead Historic District is a historic district roughly bounded by Marblehead Harbor, Waldron Court, Essex, Elm, Pond, and Norman Streets in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Among its notable features are Fort Sewall, a coastal fortificati ...

References

External links

Jeremiah Lee Mansion
Houses completed in 1768 National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts Historic house museums in Massachusetts Museums in Essex County, Massachusetts Houses in Marblehead, Massachusetts Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, Massachusetts Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Massachusetts 1768 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies {{Massachusetts-museum-stub

Description

See also

References

External links