Historic Houses of New England

New England was settled 150 years prior to the American Revolution. After Jamestown, Virginia, the Plymouth Colony on Cape Cod was only the second English colony in the Western Hemisphere in 1620. It includes the present day states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island. Religious “pilgrims” comprised the first groups of colonists and were driven by the “Puritan Work Ethic”. Ultimately their pious focus on self-sufficiency, the abundant farmland and natural resources of the region, particularly timber, led to the development of crafts and trades, mercantilism, and shipbuilding.

The earliest architecture was quite crude, lean-tos, huts dug into the ground or built with logs. Quickly, the buildings became more sophisticated but exhibited little exterior ornamentation, with designs commensurate with the austere beliefs of the Puritans. The style of this early work was post-midieval, with diamond-paned, leaded glass windows imported from England. With time and a diversified population, English, Georgian-style buildings became the norm.

Following the country’s centennial in 1876, awareness grew of the significance of the colonial period. Growing patriotism and pride in historical roots, along with attention focused on the remnants of the colonial past and that of the early republic, caused the formation of organizations like the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities in 1910. Now called Historic New England, the organization owns and operates 37 house museums across five New England States. Historic districts at Weathersfield, Conn., Nantucket, Amherst, Mass., Newport, R.I., and Montpelier, Vt, are among the largest in New England.