Nomination for Sewall-Scripture House

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (7-81) OMB NO.1024-0018 EXP. 10/31/84 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries - complete applicable sections 1. Name For NPS use only received AUG 31 1982 date entered historic Sewall-Scripture House and/or common 2. Location Sandy Bay Historical Society Building street & number 40 King Street N/Anot for publication city, town Rockport Massachusetts state 3. Classification Category Ownership . district - public X building(s) X private _ structure both _site Naplic Acquisition object in process being considered N/A vicinity of nal distriot. Sinth code 025 county Essex code 0s 009 Status occupied unoccupied work in progress Accessible Xyes: restricted .

yes: unrestricted no Present Use - agriculture commercial educational entertainment government industrial - military X museum park private residence religious scientific transportation _ other: 4. Owner of Property name street & number Sandy Bay Historical Society and Museum, Inc. 40 King Street city, town Rockport N/A vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Essex County Registry of Deeds street & number 32 Federal Street city, town Salem state 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Inventory of the Historic Assets title of the Commonwealth, #61 has this property been determined eligible? date 1973 _ federal X state Massachusetts - yes X county _ local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission city, town Boston state Massachusetts 7.

Description Condition - excelleni Xgooc fair - deteriorated ruins unexposed check one f unaltered altered Check one - original site moved date N/A Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The Sewall-Scripture House stands on a half-acre lot at the corner of King and Granite Streets, on the edge of central Rockport. The Federal-Style structure is included in a small scale residential neighborhood which developed gradually over the 18th and 19th centuries. Iwo and a half stories high with a gable roof, the most striking feature of the Sewall-Scripture House is its granite construction -- formed of dressed ashlar pieces measuring approximately one foot high by four to six feet in length. The rear wall is formed of large, coursed and square rubble. The Sewall-Scripture House is five bays long with a center entrance. The structure is only one room deep, although living space is increased by an original ell at the rear.

This gabled ell is 25 stories high, of frame construction with clapboard siding; it contains two rooms on each floor and is sheltered on its western side by a one-story porch with four Tuscan columns. block, and another, interior chimney serves both the main block and ell. Windows on the Sewall-Scripture House contain 9 over 6 sash. The House's primary (and most unusual) decorative feature is its tali doorway, composea of plain granite jambs and a narrow, stilted round arch (with keystone), flanked by sidelights. Between the arch and the rectangular door is a louvered fan. Interior woodwork is typically restrained, balancing the simplicity of the exterior design. The Sewall-Scripture House contains a circular stairway in its central hall, wood shutters which fold into splayed window reveals, wainscoting, cornice moldings, and period chimneypieces. TX0020ON J99 9834 1O.aTCd noca 30.1 8.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 X 1800-1899 X 1900 Areas of SignificanceCheck and justify below archeology-prehistoric - community planning . archeology-historic conservation agriculture economics X - architecture education art engineering commerce - exploration/settlement - communications - industry _ invention landscape architecture law literature military music philosophy politics/government - religion science sculpture social/ humanitarian theater transportation other (specify) Specific dates 1832 Builder

Statement of significance

/Architect N/A Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) The Sewall-Scripture House retains integrity of design, materials, work- manship, location, and setting. It is significant for its association with Rockport's granite industry and as one of the few houses in town built of local granite. The property meets criteria A and C of the National Register. Levi Sewall, a native of Maine, built the Sewall-Scripture House in 1832 on the occasion of his marriage to Mary Ann Robards. The granite building blocks were hauled by oxen from Sewall's own quarry in Pigeon Cove, which is said to have produced stone of excellent quality. Sewall was one of the towns earliest entrepreneurs in the granite business, first partner in Preston, Fernald & Co., and subsequently as founder of The Pigeon Hill Granite Company.

The latter company flourished through the 19th and early 20th centuries with the help of his sons-in-law, Frank Scripture and George Bradford, until its merger in 1921 with the Rockport Granite Company. Rockport's granite industry commenced in 1824, when a Quincy businessman began large-scale quarrying and exporting here. By 1850, quarrying surpassed fishing as the town's leading business and in the late 19th century, employed as many as 700 men. Cut granite from Rockport was widely used throughout the country for paving blocks, public buildings, navy yards, and lighthouses. Granite was unusual as a building material in Rockport, however, and occurs mainly in structures built for industrial use. Although Rockport possesses a remarkable collection of 18th and 19th century structures, the Sewall-Scripture House stands out as a fine example of the Federal style, delicately handled in stone.

The area around the Sewall-Scripture House at King Street and Railroad Avenue is historically known as Sewall's Corner. King Street also serviced Mark Pool's granite dwelling and tavern (still standing across the street from the Sewell House), the Rowe Grist Mill, the Pool saw mill, and the landing at Fore (now Front) Beach. With the 1861 extension of the Boston & Maine rail line to Rockport, Railroad Avenue was put through from King Street south to Broadway. Before his death in 1880, Mr. Sewall induced .the town to put curbing and a sidewalk in front of his house. Sewall promised, in return, to replace his wooden fence with a granite wall, which still surrounds the street sides of the property. Levi Sewall's descendants occupied the Sewall-Scripture House until 1957. although in more recent years only as summer residents.

Since 1957, the house has been owned and operated by the Sandy Bay Historical Society and Museum, Inc.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

Major Bibliographical References (see continuation sheet) Sandy Bay Historical Society Records: Ebenezer Poole Papers; Otis Smith Papers, John Marshall Papers; Annie Rowe Papers; Area Maps, 1853, 1872 1884, 1899; Calvin Poo1 Map, Essex County Court House, Assesors' Rockport Ofiice; Interview with Mrs. Pauline Potter and others. Essex County Registry of Deeds. 10. Geographical Data 3850 square feet Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name_Rockport, Mass. Quadrangle scale 1:25000 UMT References A 19 Zone 3|6,66,6,0 Easting 14,7 238,6,0 Northing B Zone Easting Northing LL D F LLL GLULLILYLIII Verbal boundary description and justification see attached deed description HLLLILULILILLN List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state N/A code county code state code county 11.

Form Prepared By Wendy Frontiero, Preservation Planner, with name/title Lura Phillips, Rockport Historical Commission code organization Massachusetts Historical Commissiodate May 24, 1982 street & number 294 Washington Street telephone (617) 727-8470 city or town - Boston state Massachusetts 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national _ state local As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89 665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. State Historic Preservation Oflicer signature Valerie Ann Talmage title Executive Director; Massachusetts Historical date Commission dug.

22,1982 For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register Velounst Entered in the National Ree Keeper of the National Register date 9/30/82 Attest: Chief of Registration date NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form For NPS use only received date entered Continuation sheet Sewall Scripture House Item number 9 Page Babson, John J. History of the Town of Gloucester. Gloucester, MA: Proctoer Brothers, 1860. Marshall, John W. (comp.) History of the Town of Rockport. Rockport, Rockport Review Office, 1888. History of Essex County, Massachusetts. Boston: C. F. Jewett and Co., 1878. OMB No.1024-0018 Exp.

10-31-84 20/82 ATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES ited States Department of the Interior tional Park Service Sewall-Scripture House Essex County MASSACHUSETTS EVALUATION/ RETURN SHEET resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: -sample - request Reviewer's comments: Working No. 8/31/ 82-2317 -ea. neg. Daie: Date Due: 96/82 1.83 -10//5/82 Action: ACCEPT_ Entered in the - RETURN... National Register- REJECT- Federal Agency: appeal _ NR decision -Nomination returned for: Recom. / Criteria Reviewer_. Discipline Date _see continuation sheet technical corrections cited below _ substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. Location 3. Category Classification Ownership Public Acquisition Status Accessible Present Use 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Legal Description 6.

Representation in Existing Surveys has this property been determined eligible? - yes - no 7. Description Condition excellent good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Checkone unaltered altered Check one original site moved date Describe the present and original (I known) physical appearance summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection 8. Significance Pertod traas ol Sieniticance Chock and hesttty balow poctfic datos bralamant el Signilicenco (In ano paragrapt) balleler Architact summary paragraph completeness clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance justification of excepticn other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10.

Geographical Data Acreago ol nominatad property Quadrangle neme- UMT Reterences Varbal boundary description and justitication 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated signiticance of this property within the state is : _ netional state local State Historic Preservation Ofticer signature date title 13. Other Maps Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to. Signed - Date Phone: 202 272-3504 Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet Sewall-Scripture House tronting on King Street Gramite wall - two sides Sewal1-Scripture House Rockport, MA by George T.

Hilliard, 1982 Negatives with Lura Philips, Rockport Historical Conmission Looking northeast Photo 1 of 2 Sewall- Serypture House corner - King and Granite Streets Rockport, Mass Showing wooden ell ánd porch Door from gorch into Keeging room Granite Street Sewall-Scripture House Rockport, MA by George T. Hilliard, 1982 Negatives with Lura Phillips, Rockport Historical Commission View from Granite Street looking east. Shows wooden ell and porch. Photo 2 of 2 NICOLA A. BARLETTA FREDERICK H. TARR III - Chairman DANA V. WOODS KKNXX CHESTER HOIGERSON WItDIAM R. TAYLOR P. O. Box 329 BOARD OF SELECTMEN Coton of Rockport MASSACHUSETTS 01966 TOWN OFFICE BUILDING PHONE 546-6786 June 8, 1982 RECEIVED JUN 10 1992 MASS. HIST. COMM Ms. Patricia L. Weslowski State Historic Preservation Officer Executive Director Massachusetts Historical Commission 294 Washington St. Boston, MA. 02108 Dear Ms.

Weslowski: The Board of Selectmen were pleased to learn from your communication dated May 26, 1982 that the State Review Board will be considering nomination of the Sewall- Scripture House, 40 King Street, Rockport to the National ao, d0 kng suroo, Register of Historic Places. The Board unanimously endorses this nomination. It would also be appreciated if the support and consideration of the Historical Commission be given to the South Tower, Thacher's Island and to Motif #1, Bearskin Neck Ior nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. FHT/ep Very truly yours, BOARD OF SELECTMEN -. uoludh 42.7am= Frederick H. Tarr, III Chairman cc: Mrs.

Lura Phillips, Chairman Rockport Historical Commission MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Office of the Secretary of State 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 617-727-8470 MICHAEL JOSEPH CONNOLLY Secretary of State August 24, 1982 Mr. Jerry Rogers Keeper, National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Department of the Interior Washington, D.C. 20243 Dear Mr. Rogers: Enclosed you will find the following nomination forms: Adams - Phillips Woolen Mill (local) Adams - Renfrew Mill #2 (local) Belchertown - Walker Collis House (local) Hudson - Col.

Adelbert Mossman House (local) Lenox - Lenox Academy (state) Lenox - The "Church on the Hill" (local) New Bedford - Dawson Building (local) New Marlborough - New Marlborough Village Historic District (local) North Andover - Machine Shop Village (state) Pittsfield - Wollison- Shipton Building (local) vRockport - Sewal1-Scripture House (local) Al1 have been voted eligible by the State Review Board and have been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. Owners were notified of pending State Review Board considerations 30-75 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to comment. Comments received to date are attached to the nomination forms. Sincerely, Candacefenkins Candace Jenki Registration Oirector Massachusetts Historical Commission RECEIVED Enclosures CJ/mas AUG 31 1982 NATIONAL REGISTER 10/ TETTE