William Sumner Appleton Jr. (May 29, 1874 – November 24, 1947) was founder of the

Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities 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 ...

(SPNEA) in 1910. He was the chief force behind much of the

preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...

of historic homes in the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

area.

Early life

Appleton was born on May 29, 1874, in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

to William Sumner Appleton (1840–1903) and Edith Stuart (d. 1892). As a boy he lived at 39

Beacon Street Beacon Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts and its western suburbs Brookline and Newton. It passes through many of Boston's central and western neighborhoods, including Beacon Hill, Back Bay, Fenway–Kenmore, the Boston U ...

(also known as the Nathan Appleton Residence). He was from an old and wealthy family. He was educated at Hopkinson's School for Boys, Boston, and graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1896.

Career

Appleton worked tirelessly to promote preservation of buildings from the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. He focused on buildings that were aesthetically pleasing, had historic significance, and could be independently supported. His method of preservation focused on cautious, deliberate restoration only when experts were involved and restorations were reversible. When he died in 1947, the SPNEA had grown tremendously and remains a strong and active organization today. Renamed

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 ...

, the organization owns thirty-six historic properties.

Personal life

Around 1916, Appleton lived on Spruce Street in Boston. Appleton died on November 24, 1947, in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He is buried in a plot with his sister, Marjorie, who preceded him in death by 34 years, aged about 38.

References

* Bertram Kimball Little. William Sumner Appleton. Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Third Series, Vol. 69 (October, 1947-May 1950), pp. 422–425. * Edward P. Alexander. Sixty Years of Historic Preservation: The Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities
Old-Time New England
Volume: 61 Number: 221 Issue: Summer, 1970. * N. Coolidge. William Sumner Appleton and the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. The Magazine Antiques. March 1986. Vol.129. * James M. Lindgren. "A Constant Incentive to Patriotic Citizenship": Historic Preservation in Progressive-Era Massachusetts. The New England Quarterly, Vol. 64, No. 4 (December 1991), pp. 594–608. * James Michael Lindgren. "'It belongs to men like you.' William Sumner Appleton and the makings of a preservationist.
Preserving historic New England
preservation, progressivism, and the remaking of memory. Oxford University Press US, 1995; p. 15+ * James M. Lindgren. "A New Departure in Historic, Patriotic Work": Personalism, Professionalism, and Conflicting Concepts of Material Culture in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries. The Public Historian, Vol. 18, No. 2 (Spring, 1996), pp. 41–60. * James M. Lindgren. "The Blow Which Civilization Has Suffered": American Preservationists and the Great War, 1914-1919. The Public Historian, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Summer, 2005), pp. 27–56.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Appleton, William Sumner 1874 births 1947 deaths Appleton family Harvard College alumni American philanthropists Historical preservationists People from Beacon Hill, Boston

Early life

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading

Works by Appleton

Works about Appleton

External links