HOUSE TOUR 1: Parker House ? THE DOWN EAST DILETTANTE

Old houses that have had long family occupancy have an atmosphere and romance that cannot be easily faked.?In our town, one such house is Parker House, a landmark which has surveyed the local scene since 1812. ?Built for Robert Parker, whose wife Ruth was daughter of Joseph Wood, one of the founders of the town, it is a handsome four-square Federal, amply and well proportioned, with later Colonial Revival enhancements. ?This is one of several houses in town that carry the probably apocryphal legend of having been stopped in mid-construction during the war of 1812, when we were briefly British again. The local parson left behind a journal of his days, and whether or not it is true that the other constructions were interrupted, ?we know that he continued working on his own new house nearby, for he records hearing the cannons of battle in ?Hampden on a warm September afternoon while shingling the roof.

??After a succession of owners in the 19th century, the house was purchased in 1900 by Mrs. Virgil Kline, a descendant of Mrs. Parker?s sister Edith Wood Hinckley. ?Mrs. Kline, married to the chief attorney for the Rockefeller interests in Cleveland, had had an interesting career as the manager and owner of the Boston Ideal Opera Company, a travelling light opera company that was instrumental in bringing Gilbert and Sullivan performance to America. ?Mrs. Kline?s own turreted and shingled summer house, ?Ideal Lodge?, was just up the road from Parker House. ?(For the story of that house, which should be read in conjunction with this post, click HERE:) ?

After a gentle renovation by Mrs.Kline?s architect, George Clough of Boston, Parker house acquired new porticos and french door, with a grand balustrade around the eaves, giving the house the proper New England ancestral air that Mrs. Kline, an early collector of local antiques, sought. ?The house became the summer home of Mrs. Kline?s sister, Mrs. Frederick Augustus Merrill, who furnished the house with family artifacts and antiques collected locally. ?In 1916, the property was conveyed to Mrs. Merrill, and has descended to her great-grandson, who has been restoring and improving the house since taking possession, with a sensitive eye to its unique character, while at the same time making it practical for the 21st century, and respecting the gently worn and faded qualities that give the house much of its aristocratic air. ?His intelligent and subtle approach gives rebuke to many who have gut renovated similar houses up here (if you want a condo in Greenwich, buy a condo in Greenwich, or build a new house don?t strip a beautiful old house of its elegant features and character. ?Why be ordinary when you can be special?

Parker House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Most of the contemporary pictures in this post were taken during a benefit house tour. ?Despite the fact that there were 30-50 people wandering through the house at any time, only once did a person get in the photos (followed by so many others that I gave up?never have I seen so many people emerge from one bedroom).

The owner has created this video showing the evolution of the house from 1812-2012.

The vintage photographs are from the collection of the owner, and from other local collections. ? Thanks to the owner for permission to post about his fascinating house.

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Source: http://downeastdilettante.wordpress.com/2012/09/14/house-tour-1-parker-house/

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