Crowninshield, in early days pronounced ‘Grounsell’—was a great name in Old Salem. The house of George Crowninshield stood on the present location of the Custom-House, its cupola surmounted by a weather vane in shape of a man with a telescope. This George, a famous ship-owner, was the father of three sons, Benjamin, member of Congress and Secretary of the Navy under Presidents Madison and Monroe; Jacob, also a Congressman; and Captain George, owner of Cleopatra’s Barge, one of the first pleasure yachts ever built in America.
Clifford Crowninshield in 1805 erected a house after designs by McIntire at 72 Washington Square, East. This building was square, with a long L at the side, an enclosed porch being placed in the angle formed by the two buildings.
Clifford Crowninshield might be called a ‘merchant plunger.’ He amassed great wealth by fortunate ventures. His ship Minerva was the first Salem vessel to carry the flag around the world. In 1809 he died, and his house was occupied by his brother-in-law, Captain James Devereux.
Devereux was of the same type as Crowninshield. As captain of the ship Franklin, of Boston, he traded with Japan half a century before Admiral Perry opened the door to American commerce. In 1808 he paid $26,618.25 customs duties on a single cargo of coffee. Dying in 1846, he left the house to Captain William Dean Waters, his son-in-law. Waters died in 1880, and in 1892 the property passed out of the family.
The entrance of this huge homestead, with its elliptical porch surmounted by a handsome balustrade, its solid Tuscan columns, spreading fanlight, and paneled door, is in scale with the rest of the building. The tiny square windows on the third floor add a quaint touch to the whole.
The Mansfield-Bolles House
THE MANSFIELD-BOLLES HOUSE
Oblong houses in Old Salem stood sometimes with the front to the street, sometimes with the end; the latter is the case with the Mansfield-Bolles house at 8 Chestnut Street, built in 1810. The house is of brick, painted, which has spoiled the mellow effect. It is entirely covered as to the front with a close growth of ampelopsis. At the center is the handsome doorway, nearly flush with the façade, the spreading fanlight, oval-paned side-lights, and proper Colonial paneled door producing a most pleasing effect. The windows of the upper story are not foreshortened—an unusual feature in houses of this type. This is probably due to the fact that this story was a later addition, the building having previously been used for commercial purposes.
The late Reverend Dr. E. C. Bolles, professor at Tufts College, and formerly pastor of the Universalist Church in Salem, lived here for many years.