The Gedney and Cox Houses are historic houses at 21 High Street in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

. The earliest part of the Gedney House was built c. 1665, and the houses were added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1974. They are owned by

Historic New England Historic New England, previously known as the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA), is a charitable, non-profit, historic preservation organization headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is focused on New England a ...

, which offers limited tours.

Gedney House

The Gedney House is a historic

Colonial America The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the Revolutionary War. In the ...

n house, (

First Period First Period is an American architecture style in the time period between approximately 1626 and 1725, used by British colonists during the earliest English settlements in United States, particularly in Massachusetts and Virginia and later in ...

) estimated to have been constructed circa 1665. It is located at 21 High Street, near the intersection of Summer Street. The Gedney and Cox Houses are operated as a non-profit museum by

. The house is rarely open to the public, though private tours can be arranged. The house was built for Eleazor Gedney, a well-to-do shipwright of the

Gedney family The Gedneys were among the original settlers of Salem, Massachusetts. The family patriarch, John Gedney (originally of Norwich), sailed in 1636 out of Yarmouth, England on thMary Anne One of his sons, Bartholomew, was one of the judges who presid ...

, married to the sister of John Turner, builder of Salem's

House of the Seven Gables The House of the Seven Gables (also known as the Turner House or Turner-Ingersoll Mansion) is a 1668 colonial mansion in Salem, Massachusetts, named for its gables. It was made famous by Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1851 novel ''The House of the Seven ...

. Gedney purchased the unimproved land here in April 1664 close to the shore and the "buildplace" for his boats. He was married in June 1665, and the original portion of the house, two stories with gabled attic to the left and a parlor with lean-to roof to the right was erected at this time. Long-gone extensions at the rear (where some structural evidence survives) were probably original. They were surely in existence at the time of Eleazer's early death in 1683 when an estate inventory mentions the hall, hall chamber, a garret, "parlour or lento" and "lento chambr," and "Kitchin, Loft over it & little leantoo." The latter lean-to was presumably in the rear. Around 1703–1706, the original parlor lean-to was raised to a full two stories. The last (and most extensive) structural changes followed about 1800, whereby a new two-story lean-to at the rear with separate chimney replaced whatever had preceded it. At this time also the framed overhang along the street was furred out and a basement kitchen introduced. Around 1962 the central chimney was removed and the interior stripped. The house was acquired by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (now

) in 1967. The house is significant for its structural carpentry and for surviving early paint and decorative finishes. In the hall chamber three successive color schemes can be identified, the earliest thought to be contemporary or near-contemporary with original construction. In 2002 the

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Dendrochronology Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmos ...

Laboratory analyzed timber from the original structure and ascertained that donor trees were felled at the following times: Spring 1664 and Winter 1664–5. 1820 Salem Massachusetts map bySaunders BPL 12094

1820 Salem Massachusetts map bySaunders BPL 12094

Notes

References

* Bryant F. Tolles, Jr., ''Architecture in Salem: An Illustrated Guide'', University Press of New England, Hanover and London, reissued 2004.

External links

Historic New England Gedney House

Historic Buildings In Massachusetts, Salem Gedney House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gedney And Cox Houses Houses completed in 1665 Houses in Salem, Massachusetts Protected areas of Massachusetts Historic house museums in Massachusetts Museums in Salem, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Salem, Massachusetts Historic New England 1665 establishments in Massachusetts Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, Massachusetts

Gedney House

See also

Notes

References

External links