Sprague House

The Sprague House, built in the Danversport section of Danvers in 1810, 1s Tocated on asmall, trlangular corner lot at the intersection of Endicott Street and Needham Road. The property is located upland from the Waters River with the Cranes River to the east; both are tributaries of the Danvers River. Endicott Street today is a busy main road, while Needham Road, the original Endicott Road, is a lane running along the north side of the house. The Federal-style house faces south and overlooks the Waters River. It sits elevated approximately 30 feet from Endicott Street on its south side and approximately 14 feet from Needham Road to the north. The property is fronted by a stone wall and is framed by deciduous and evergreen trees, as well as Tow plantings.

The 1/3-acre lot is slightly sloping. The surrounding area 15 highly developed commercial and industrial property, with only a very small 20th century residential section located to the east. The main section of the house is 2 1/2 stories tall, while two wings, extending from the east and west sides, are only one story high. The malr block is five bays wide, with a centra entrance. Three chimeys are located at the end walls, two just in front of the gable ridge and one just to the rear of the ridge. The clapboard-sheathed building rests on a foundation of granite blocks, which has not been rebuilt. Only the main section of the house has a full basement. The shallow gable roof with narrow returns,originally covered with wooden shingles, is now sheathed with fiberglass shingles.

The house is trimmed with simple corner boards and a narrow cornice throughout. Windows have simple architraves. Several retain their original blinds. Double-hung 6/6 sash survives as well.

(in one paragraph) Builder/Architect unknown The Sprague House, Danvers, possesses integrity of location, design, materials and workmanship as well as associations with the Sprague family, a wealthy and influential family in nearby Salem who built the nominated property as a summer house in 1810. This well-preserved country residence is one of the few surviving Federal-style houses in Danvers. Its particularly well-detailed interior finishes are especially notable. The property therefore meets Criterion C of the National Register of Historic Places on the local level. The Sprague farmhouse is one of the earliest and most notable structures in Danversport, in the southeastern section of Danvers.

This area saw development from farmland to shipbuilding to, in the 20th century, industrialization and suburbanization. (Today the house stands essentially isolatedby 20th century highway and commercial construction.) Its location on a slight rise between two tributaries of the Danvers River made it an ideal site for a summer residence. The land on which the farm, eventually totaling 112 acres, stood was originally part of Governor John Endicott's estate. The most prominent owners of the property were its original owners, Major Joseph Sprague and his son, Joseph Jr. Joseph Sprague was born in Medford in 1739 and in the late 1760s, moved to Salem from Newburyport.

A successful merchant, distillery owner, and citizen, Sprague was a member of the Salem Committee of Safety and distinguished himself dur ing the Revolutionary War. Partial owner of a number of ships, Sprague also owned a large estate in In 1787, he purchased a 96-acre farm in Danvers from the estate of John Felt, and dur ing the next few years purchased an additional 19 adjoining acres from Joseph Endicott, the land being part of the original 1632 land grant of Gov. John Endicott between the Crane and Waters Rivers.