The Jeremiah Lee Mansion is a historic house located in

Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, along the North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsula that extends into the northern part of Massachusetts Bay. Attache ...

. It is operated as a house museum by the local historical society. Built in 1768, it was designated 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 ...

in 1960 as one of the finest Late Georgian houses in the United States. It features original wallpaper and finely-crafted woodwork.

Description

Mrs Jeremiah Lee Martha Swett John Singleton Copley 1769

The mansion is a large wooden house in the

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

style, with imitation stone ashlar facade, built in 1768 by Colonel Jeremiah Lee, at that time the wealthiest merchant and ship owner in the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of ...

. The facade may be based on Plate 11 of Robert Morris' influential patternbook ''Rural Architecture'' (London 1750; retitled ''Select Architecture'' in later eds.). The Center for Palladian Studies in America, Inc.
"Palladio and Architectural Patternbooks in Colonial America"
It was one of the largest and most opulent houses of the late-colonial period in America. The mansion is now owned by the Marblehead Museum and Historical Society. It contains a notable collection of early American furniture, and many of the mansion's original decorative finishes have been preserved, including rare 18th-century English hand-painted wallpaper, intricate carving in the rococo style, and a grand entry hall and staircase paneled with mahogany. On either side of its landing are copies of the full-length portraits of Jeremiah and Martha Lee by John Singleton Copley. The mansion was declared a

and 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 1966. In 1984 it was also 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 fortificatio ...

References

External links

Jeremiah Lee Mansion
Houses completed in 1768 National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts Historic house museums in Massachusetts Museums in Essex County, 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 1768 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies {{Massachusetts-museum-stub

Description

See also

References

External links