The General John Glover House is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

at 11 Glover Street in

Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, along the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsula that extends ...

. It is a -story

gambrel A gambrel or gambrel roof is a usually symmetrical two-sided roof with two slopes on each side. (The usual architectural term in eighteenth-century England and North America was "Dutch roof".) The upper slope is positioned at a shallow angle, w ...

-roofed colonial built in 1762 by John Glover (1732–1797), a local merchant, politician, and militia leader who gained fame for his military leadership in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. The house was declared a

and 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 1972, for its association with Glover, who lived here during the war years.

Description and history

The Glover House is a -story wood-frame structure, five bays wide, with a gambrel roof and two symmetrically placed interior chimneys. A two-story kitchen ell extends to the rear of the house. The front entry is centered on the west-facing main facade, with a four-light transom window above, and is framed by pilasters and pediment with entablature. The inside of the house is a variant of the typical Georgian center-hall plan, with a single large parlor on the right, and a smaller dining room on the left, behind which is a hallway opening to a secondary stairwell and side door. The parlor and dining room have elaborately carved fireplace surrounds, and the parlor also has a carved wooden cornice. The upstairs has three bedrooms. John Glover was born 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 ...

in 1732, moved to nearby Marblehead early in his life, and rose to become a merchant of wealth and substance. He joined the local militia in 1759. In 1762 he built this house, which became his home until 1782. By the time the

broke out in 1775, Glover had already been active in resistance activities. He quickly rose in importance in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

, providing marine logistics during the

New York and New Jersey campaign The New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 and the winter months of 1777 was a series of American Revolutionary War battles for control of the Port of New York and New Jersey, Port of New York and the state of New Jersey, fought between Kingdom ...

of 1776–77. He notably oversaw the transport of the Continental forces from a besieged position on August 29–30, 1776, after they lost the

Battle of Long Island The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn, New Yo ...

, without any significant losses, and was again involved in the same role in Washington's crossing of the Delaware River on the night of December 25–26, which preceded the

Battle of Trenton The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal American Revolutionary War battle on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After General George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American m ...

. Promoted to brigadier general after these actions, he led a division in the

Battles of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion ...

in September and October 1777. He was given a brevet promotion to major general at the end of the conflict. In 1782 Glover purchased the Marblehead estate of the

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

William Browne, which had been confiscated by the state. That house and farm served as his home until his death in 1796. The Glover Farm house and property still stands, but has been significantly altered having been converted into an Inn and then later restaurant before closing in the later 1990s. Glover continued to be active in local affairs, and served in the Massachusetts convention which ratified the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

in 1788. The property was designated a

and listed on the

in 1972, and was included in the

Marblehead Historic District The Marblehead Historic District is a historic district roughly bounded by Marblehead Harbor, Waldron Court, Essex, Elm, Pond, and Norman Streets in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Among its notable features are Fort Sewall, a coastal fortification ...

in 1984.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Houses completed in 1762 National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts Houses in Marblehead, Massachusetts Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, Massachusetts Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Massachusetts Georgian architecture in Massachusetts

Description and history

See also

References