The John Whipple House is a historic colonial house at 1 South Green in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Built in the seventeenth century, the house has been open to the public as a museum since 1899 and was the subject of some of the earliest attempts at the preservation of colonial houses. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960, one of the earliest properties to receive that honor.
Construction of the three-story wood-frame First Period house was begun by Captain John Whipple in 1677 at the corner of Saltonstall and Market Streets. This initial construction consisted of a half-house timber frame with a chimney on the right side.[2] In 1690,[3] his son Major John Whipple added a second half-house to the right of the entryway. By 1705, a series of 3-sided 1-story timber frame additions (lean-tos) had been added on the west side of the house, including a kitchen (the third chimney), a buttery, and sleeping quarters for the household slaves and servants. Circa 1710, the west roof of the primary house was raised and extended over the lean-tos creating 4 additional slope-ceiling rooms. The total room count was then 14, not including the fully usable 3rd-floor attic above the primary structure. This was a very large house then (and now), with high ceilings in all rooms except the lean-tos, a prominent location near the mills and with land abutting the Ipswich River. It became known as "The Mansion", a title it retained for more than a century.
In the 1720s, a daughter who had inherited the house from Major John Whipple altered the facade and some of the interior to reflect the new and fashionable Georgian-style architecture. This required the removal of gables from the east facade and the replacement of diamond-paned leaded-glass casement windows with the new-style sash windows. The main entry timbered door was replaced with a paneled door with a window above.
The interior rooms received plastered ceilings and walls, and discreet camouflaging of the exposed timber frame members. The house and room configuration remained in this state until 1898 when it was purchased by the Ipswich Historical Society. The property had fallen into decline,[4] after serving for a few years as the Mill managers' home, then a boarding house for mill workers and finally as a veritable tenement.
The Historical Society restored some of the interior to the assumed 17th-century style and replaced the Georgian windows and exterior doors with reproductions of the 17th-century originals. It was opened to the public as a House Museum in 1899. In 1927, it was moved to its current location, on the opposite side of the river, surrounded by 10 acres (4.0 ha) of woods, field, and garden. The house is sited on the same compass points as it was originally.
When extensive termite damage was found in the east façade in the 1950s, the house was closed and extensive restoration was begun. The exposed interior skeleton of this facade revealed the prior existence of 2 gables, which were then included in the restoration project. All new casement windows with hand-blown glass set in hand-leaded frames were installed and the house was re-opened to the public. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960, the first year such designations were made, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.[1] In 2002 the house was definitively dated to 1677 using dendrochronology.[5]
The house features oak, tamarack, pine and chestnut framework, and original plasterwork.[4] Some remaining sash windows in lean-to rooms date to the 1690s. The Ipswich Historical Society is now the Ipswich Museum and offers house tours for the public from late May to late October, Thursdays – Sundays.
Hugh Morrison, Early American Architecture from the First Colonial Settlements to the National Period (New York, Oxford University Press, 1952), pp. 54–55.
James Kyprianos, Whipple House Docent Manual, 2000.
Ipswich Historical Society, Dedication of the Ancient House Now Occupied by the Society, 1899.
Thomas Franklin Waters, The John Whipple House and the People Who have Owned and Lived in It, 1915.
^ ab"NHL nomination for John Whipple House". National Park Service. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
^"Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory - Whipple House - Massachusetts".
External linksedit
Historic Ipswich, Whipple House
Whipple House Museum - information
April 15, 2024
john, whipple, house, historic, colonial, house, south, green, ipswich, massachusetts, built, seventeenth, century, house, been, open, public, museum, since, 1899, subject, some, earliest, attempts, preservation, colonial, houses, designated, national, histori. The John Whipple House is a historic colonial house at 1 South Green in Ipswich Massachusetts Built in the seventeenth century the house has been open to the public as a museum since 1899 and was the subject of some of the earliest attempts at the preservation of colonial houses It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 one of the earliest properties to receive that honor John Whipple HouseU S National Register of Historic PlacesU S National Historic LandmarkU S Historic districtContributing propertyJohn Whipple HouseIpswich MassachusettsShow map of MassachusettsShow map of the United StatesLocation1 South Green Ipswich MassachusettsCoordinates42 40 34 N 70 50 11 W 42 67611 N 70 83639 W 42 67611 70 83639Built1677ArchitectWhipple JohnArchitectural styleSalt BoxPart ofSouth Green Historic District ID80000471 NRHP reference No 66000791 1 Significant datesAdded to NRHPOctober 15 1966Designated NHLOctober 9 1960Designated CPSeptember 17 1980 Contents 1 History 2 Gallery 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory editConstruction of the three story wood frame First Period house was begun by Captain John Whipple in 1677 at the corner of Saltonstall and Market Streets This initial construction consisted of a half house timber frame with a chimney on the right side 2 In 1690 3 his son Major John Whipple added a second half house to the right of the entryway By 1705 a series of 3 sided 1 story timber frame additions lean tos had been added on the west side of the house including a kitchen the third chimney a buttery and sleeping quarters for the household slaves and servants Circa 1710 the west roof of the primary house was raised and extended over the lean tos creating 4 additional slope ceiling rooms The total room count was then 14 not including the fully usable 3rd floor attic above the primary structure This was a very large house then and now with high ceilings in all rooms except the lean tos a prominent location near the mills and with land abutting the Ipswich River It became known as The Mansion a title it retained for more than a century In the 1720s a daughter who had inherited the house from Major John Whipple altered the facade and some of the interior to reflect the new and fashionable Georgian style architecture This required the removal of gables from the east facade and the replacement of diamond paned leaded glass casement windows with the new style sash windows The main entry timbered door was replaced with a paneled door with a window above The interior rooms received plastered ceilings and walls and discreet camouflaging of the exposed timber frame members The house and room configuration remained in this state until 1898 when it was purchased by the Ipswich Historical Society The property had fallen into decline 4 after serving for a few years as the Mill managers home then a boarding house for mill workers and finally as a veritable tenement The Historical Society restored some of the interior to the assumed 17th century style and replaced the Georgian windows and exterior doors with reproductions of the 17th century originals It was opened to the public as a House Museum in 1899 In 1927 it was moved to its current location on the opposite side of the river surrounded by 10 acres 4 0 ha of woods field and garden The house is sited on the same compass points as it was originally When extensive termite damage was found in the east facade in the 1950s the house was closed and extensive restoration was begun The exposed interior skeleton of this facade revealed the prior existence of 2 gables which were then included in the restoration project All new casement windows with hand blown glass set in hand leaded frames were installed and the house was re opened to the public It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960 the first year such designations were made and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 1 In 2002 the house was definitively dated to 1677 using dendrochronology 5 The house features oak tamarack pine and chestnut framework and original plasterwork 4 Some remaining sash windows in lean to rooms date to the 1690s The Ipswich Historical Society is now the Ipswich Museum and offers house tours for the public from late May to late October Thursdays Sundays Gallery edit nbsp Front nbsp Back nbsp KitchenSee also editList of the oldest buildings in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places listings in Ipswich Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places listings in Essex County Massachusetts List of National Historic Landmarks in MassachusettsReferences editHugh Morrison Early American Architecture from the First Colonial Settlements to the National Period New York Oxford University Press 1952 pp 54 55 James Kyprianos Whipple House Docent Manual 2000 Ipswich Historical Society Dedication of the Ancient House Now Occupied by the Society 1899 Thomas Franklin Waters The John Whipple House and the People Who have Owned and Lived in It 1915 a b National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service April 15 2008 The Whipple House Historic Ipswich January 28 2013 Retrieved December 29 2013 Oxford Dendrochronology a b NHL nomination for John Whipple House National Park Service Retrieved December 29 2013 Oxford Tree Ring Laboratory Whipple House Massachusetts External links editHistoric Ipswich Whipple House Whipple House Museum information Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Whipple House amp oldid 1169230180, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
