‘Oak Hill’
‘OAK HILL’
The present town of Danvers was originally part of Old Salem, and after its separation in 1752, Danvers included the present town of Peabody, which was set off in 1855. In the year 1800, while McIntire was producing his most beautiful and finished work, ‘Oak Hill,’ now in Peabody, was erected from his designs. It is now the summer residence of Mrs. J. C. Rogers, and contains throughout as complete and elaborate a wealth of detail from the wood-carver’s hand as can anywhere be found.
Reference has been made to the fact that craftsmen from the shipyards of Salem, skilled in the carving of figureheads and cabin decorations, sometimes found employment ashore in the service of architects and builders. The year when ‘Oak Hill’ was built marked the climax of Salem’s maritime importance. Carvings suggesting the familiar rope mouldings of ships’ cabins are found upon the balusters.
The porch of this beautiful house, with the exception of the modern doors, is a most complete and graceful composition. Fluted Ionic columns, four in number, support in pairs the front edge of the roof, while its rear rests upon pilasters grouped in the same way. The columns, as often in McIntire’s work, are slender for their height; but instead of appearing spindling, they seem to assume an airy grace which lightens and relieves the whole. A spider-web fanlight surmounts the door, and the leaded glass in the side-lights is heart-shaped—a unique and charming feature.