The Nathan Appleton Residence, also known as the Appleton-Parker House, is a historic house located at 39–40 Beacon Street in the

Beacon Hill Beacon Hill may refer to: Places Canada * Beacon Hill, Ottawa, Ontario, a neighbourhood * Beacon Hill Park, a park in Victoria, British Columbia * Beacon Hill, Saskatchewan * Beacon Hill, Montreal, a neighbourhood in Beaconsfield, Quebec United ...

neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was designated a National Historic Landmark for its association with revolutionary textile manufacturer

Nathan Appleton Nathan Appleton (October 6, 1779July 14, 1861) was an American merchant and politician and a member of " The Boston Associates". Early life Appleton was born in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, the son of Isaac Appleton (1731–1806) and his wife Ma ...

(1779–1861), and as the site in 1843 of the wedding of his daughter Frances and poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The house is an excellent early 19th century design of Alexander Parris.

Description

This pair of brick townhouses rise three stories, and are joined by a common firewall. When built in 1821, they were essentially mirror images of each other, differing in only relatively minor interior respects. Their main facades are each three bays wide, with the outer bay a rounded projection with two windows. The door to each unit occupied the center bay and is framed by a wooden surround and topped by a fanlight; a Doric portico provides shelter. At the top of each building a low balustrade conceals a low-pitched roof. In the 1870s a fourth floor was added; the original balustrades were retained. The rounded bays of number 39 were altered in the 1880s by the addition of a third window on each level, and what were originally single-story servant wings in the rear of each unit were extended and raised to three stories by later owners.

History

The property here had been owned by painter

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 probably born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Richard and Mary Singleton Copley, both Anglo-Irish. Afte ...

and much of the land had been purchased by Dr. John Joy, who headed a real estate company. In 1819,

and business partner Daniel Pinckney Parker bought a house that had been standing on the property and tore it down. They then had the twin house built, designed by architect Alexander Parris and numbered 39 and 40 Beacon Street. In 1843 Appleton's daughter Frances (Fanny) was married in this house to poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.Calhoun, Charles C. ''Longfellow: A Rediscovered Life''. Boston: Beacon Press, 2004: 165. . Appleton was one of the great financial minds behind the early industrialization of New England, funding the

Boston Manufacturing Company The Boston Manufacturing Company was a business that operated one of the first factories in America. It was organized in 1813 by Francis Cabot Lowell, a wealthy Boston merchant, in partnership with a group of investors later known as The Boston As ...

and developing a strategy for selling its products. He parlayed this early success into the later development of major industrial complexes at Lowell and

Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and Nort ...

, and also Manchester, New Hampshire. Appleton lived at 39 Beacon Street from 1821 until his death in 1861. From 1914 to the 1990s it housed the Women's City Club of Boston. It has since been subdivided into condominiums. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Nathan Appleton House Boston MA

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Appleton Residence National Historic Landmarks in Boston Houses completed in 1821 Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Suffolk County, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Boston

Description

History

See also

References