The Macy–Colby House is a historically significant

saltbox house A saltbox house is a gable-roofed residential structure that is typically two stories in the front and one in the rear. It is a traditional New England style of home, originally timber framed, which takes its name from its resemblance to a woode ...

at 257 Main Street in

Amesbury Amesbury () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is known for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is within the parish. The town is claimed to be the oldest occupied settlement in Great Britain, having been first settle ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. It is a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

and has been listed on 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 ...

since 2008. In addition to its great age, it is notable for its association with Thomas Macy, an early settler of

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

and the subject of a poem by

John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...

, and for its long association with the locally significant Colby family.

History

The Macy–Colby House was originally built by Thomas Macy, probably about 1649, and sold to Anthony Colby in 1654. The saltbox structure was extensively modified by Obadiah Colby (1706–1749) in the early 1740s.

Thomas Macy Thomas Macy (1608–1682) was an early settler of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and of Nantucket Island. He was born in Chilmark, Wiltshire, came over to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635, and lived at various times in Newbury and Salisbury be ...

was Amesbury's first town clerk; he held many town offices, and was involved in numerous land transactions. He left Amesbury in 1659 after years of conflict with local

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...

leaders, most notably over giving shelter to Quakers in this house. He became the first European settler to establish his family on the island of

. Macy became the subject of a poem by the 19th-century poet

entitled "The Exile", depicting the plight of

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

in the religiously intolerant Puritan society of

colonial Massachusetts Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 ...

. Anthony Colby (1605–1660/61) came to America with the Winthrop

fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles *Fishing fleet *Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles *Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada * Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach ...

in 1630. He first settled in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

, and was in

Salisbury, Massachusetts Salisbury is a small coastal beach town and summer tourist destination in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The community is a popular summer resort beach town situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of Boston on the New Hampshire border. ...

, by 1640. He was one of the first settlers of the new town of Amesbury in 1650. He was active in town affairs, served in various offices, and was part owner of a local sawmill. Anthony Colby's descendants owned the Macy–Colby property for 245 years; nine generations of Colbys lived in this house. In 1899, Moses Colby (1822–1901) donated the house and property to the Bartlett Cemetery Association as a memorial to the Colby and Macy families, and to the people of Amesbury, Massachusetts. The property is maintained by the Friends of the Macy–Colby House Association, and is open to the public on Saturdays during the summer. This house dates to ca. 1745 according to the Massachusetts Historical Commission/ Massachusetts Cultural Resources Information System.

References

External links

Macy family informationColby family informationAmesbury Treasures
umbrella organization for historic societies in Amesbury {{DEFAULTSORT:Macy-Colby House Houses completed in 1652 Historic house museums in Massachusetts Saltbox architecture in Massachusetts Museums in Essex County, Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Amesbury, Massachusetts Houses in Essex County, Massachusetts Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, Massachusetts 1652 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony

History

See also

References

External links