Cornelius Coolidge (August 30, 1778 - September 4, 1843) was a real estate developer in early 19th-century

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 ...

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 ...

, who constructed buildings in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood, and elsewhere. As a young man he had been involved in maritime trade, and not always within the prescribed laws. During the War of 1812, the brig ''Dispatch'' owned by Coolidge and Francis Oliver was captured outside Boston Harbor by the Salem privateer ''Castigator'' on suspicion of having been trading with the enemy. Coolidge and Oliver manned two boats with 45 armed men, rowed down the harbor, and regained their brig after an exchange of gunfire. However, the brig was restored to the privateers by the district court. Described variously as an architect, housewright, builder, designer, and real estate broker,

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

-educated Coolidge brought many buildings into being. Clients of Coolidge & Co. included some of Boston's more prominent residents, such as David Sears and Charles Francis Adams. He conducted business with John Hubbard, Joseph Morton (brother of

Perez Morton Perez Morton (November 13, 1751 – October 14, 1837) was a lawyer and revolutionary patriot in Boston, Massachusetts. Life and career Morton was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1751, and raised in Boston. His father, Joseph Morton, worke ...

) and others. He was also a proprietor of the Boston Mill Corporation. Around 1825, Coolidge and Nathaniel Amory began developing property in

Nahant Nahant is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,334 at the 2020 census, which makes it the smallest municipality by population in Essex County. With just of land area, it is the smallest municipality by are ...

, Massachusetts, for construction of summer homes. The first homes sold in 1827. Clients included David Sears and others. On Beacon Hill, Coolidge built houses on Chestnut, Mount Vernon, Acorn, Joy and

Beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

Streets, including

Louisburg Square Louisburg Square is a street in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, bisected by a small private park. The park is maintained by the Louisburg Square Proprietors. While the Proprietors pay taxes to the City of Boston, the city d ...

. Several remain in existence, including: * 33 Beacon Street (

George Parkman George Parkman (February 19, 1790November 23, 1849), a Boston Brahmin and a member of one of Boston's richest families, was a prominent physician, businessman, and philanthropist, as well the victim in the sensationally gruesome Parkman–Webste ...

house), 1825. * 50 Chestnut Street (

Francis Parkman Francis Parkman Jr. (September 16, 1823 – November 8, 1893) was an American historian, best known as author of '' The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life'' and his monumental seven-volume '' France and England in North Am ...

house), 1830s. Coolidge led an active social life. He was one of the first subscribers to the

Boston Athenaeum 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- most ...

. He attended the gala opening dinner party for the newly built Tremont House hotel on October 16, 1829, along with mayor Josiah Quincy,

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison, ...

Edward Everett Edward Everett (April 11, 1794 – January 15, 1865) was an American politician, Unitarian pastor, educator, diplomat, and orator from Massachusetts. Everett, as a Whig, served as U.S. representative, U.S. senator, the 15th governor of Massa ...

, Harrison Gray Otis, and others.

References

Further reading