Grimshawe House: 1906

I've often wondered what the significance of this house was. I found it fascinating when visiting, and took a few pics. I found the tree marks on the siding interesting and thought; "A beautiful home this could be".

More at Old Burying Point.

I live just a few blocks from this building and walk past it to and from work. In Salem, it's very rare for a historic building like this to be in such disrepair; most all such buildings are now owned by affluent property-owners, in full circle to our past history. I'm not sure who owns it or why it is, so far, unreconditioned.

It really would help if the owners put them back; they really do add character/texture to the facade and the historical continuity would likely please the quiet and non-complaining next door neighbors. Their addition might even liven up the neighborhood a bit too.

The beauty of this hose is that the neighbours are quiet.

That black iron gate on the right side of the above photograph is also visible in the 1906 photo. Now that is what I call a fence. Over a century old, and still in great shape. Also, in the 1906 photograph, the cemetery headstones were sort of legible. I wonder how legible they are today ? I hope someone in Salem, maybe someone from the historical society, recorded who is buried at that cemetery, for historical/family history purposes.

A good landscape architect? Not a big fan of the lawn decorations. The HOA will not approve.

This house, which stands at 53 Charter Street, is linked to "Scarlet Letter" author Nathaniel Hawthorne, as he courted his future wife while her family lived there.

Doctor Nathaniel Peabody (a dentist) and his daughters Sophia, Amelia and Elizabeth lived there when Nathaniel Hawthorne courted his future wife Sophia. The house appears in two works of Hawthorne's -- the "Dolliver Romance" and "Dr. Grimshawe's Secret."

It is still used as a residence and is situated just east of the Charter Street cemetery. The house was built approximately 1680 and added on to six times through the 1920s.

I guess they would have been quite concerned if the next door neighbors caused any racket or wild parties.

"Deep roots in the community" is an understatement!!

The building is still there, although it has had some extremely unfortunate modifications in the last 100 years. Still, I bet you could bring it back to 18th century beauty without too much trouble (and plenty of money).