The Manning Manse is a historic house at 56 Chelmsford Road in

North Billerica, Massachusetts North Billerica is an unincorporated village of the town of Billerica, Massachusetts, United States, one of the nine sections (hamlets) that make up the Town of Billerica. It is the home to Faulkner and Talbot mills and the North Billerica Trai ...

. Built about 1696, it is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Billerica. It has further associations with local and nationally prominent members of the Manning family, and is a significant early example of

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

in the United States. Since the mid-20th century it has typically housed a restaurant, under lease from a family association. It was 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 ...

in 1982.

Description and history

The Manning Manse stands in an isolated setting of northern Billerica, on the south side of Chelmsford Road (

Massachusetts Route 129 Route 129 is a east–west Massachusetts state route that runs from Route 4 and Route 110 in Chelmsford to Route 114 in Marblehead. Along the way it intersects several major highways including U.S. Route 3 (US 3) in Chelmsford, Interstate ...

) east of Executive Park Drive. It is set on about of land, which is surrounded on three sides by Warren H. Manning State Forest. The building now consists of three sections, organized in an L shape. The eastern part of the L is the original main house, to which modern additions have been made to the west. The main house is oriented facing south (away from the street). It is a -story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof, central chimney, and clapboarded exterior. The roof on the north side extends down to the first floor, giving the building a

saltbox 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 ...

profile. The area that is now Billerica was first settled in the 1640s, but the area west of the Concord River was not settled until after 1690. It is believed that this house, built about 1696 by Samuel Manning, was the first to be built there. It is one of only two 17th-century buildings standing in the town. Between 1752 and 1800 the Manning family operated a tavern out of the leanto portion of the house. It was occupied in the later years of the 18th century by the family of William Manning, a veteran of 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 ...

who wrote the anti- Federalist ''The Key of Liberty'' in 1798. Manning's children occupied the house until the last died in 1880, after which a trusteeship was established to oversee the property. It fell into decay until the 1890s, when

Warren H. Manning Warren Henry Manning (November 7, 1860–February 5, 1938) was an American landscape designer and promoter of the informal and naturalistic "wild garden" approach to garden design. In his designs, Manning emphasized pre-existing flora through a ...

spearheaded family efforts to restore the property. A landscape architect trained in the office of

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co ...

, Manning purchased not just the house, but the surrounding lands that formed the basis of Manning State Forest. Manning conducted a carefully documented restoration of the house in 1899, and made it his summer home. A family association was eventually formed to take over the property, which has since leased it to a variety of restaurant operators. The building was extensively damaged by fire in 1994, but was again restored.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Houses completed in 1696 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Houses in Billerica, Massachusetts 1696 establishments in Massachusetts Colonial architecture in Massachusetts

Description and history

See also

References