Built 1711 (1711) Opened 1711 Added to NRHP 24 February 1975 | NRHP Reference # 75000242 Area 1,214 m² | |
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Location 9 Andover St., Andover, Massachusetts Similar Memorial Hall Library, Haggetts Pond, Robert S Peabody Museum, Wellfleet Drive‑In Theater, Addison Gallery of American | ||
The Benjamin Abbot House or Abbot Homestead is a historic house at 9 Andover Street in Andover, Massachusetts, USA. With its oldest portion dating to 1711, it is one of Andover's oldest surviving buildings. It was long thought to have been built in 1685, and that it belonged to Benjamin Abbot, a figure involved in accusations of witchcraft during the 1691 Salem witch trials. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
Description and history
The Benjamin Abbot House is a located southwest of downtown Andover, on the north side of Andover Street, a busy road connecting the center to Interstate 93. The house is oriented facing more directly south, and its southeast corner is quite close to the road. The main block is a 2-1/2 story wood frame structure, with a gabled roof, central chimney, and clapboarded exterior. A recessed ell extends to the west, joining the house to a barn that serves as a garage. The main block is five bays wide, with 8-over-8 sash windows in the outer bays, and a 6-over-6 sash above the center entrance. The entrance is in a projecting gabled vestibule with small windows on the sides; the door is made of vertical planking attached with iron strap hinges. The interior features exposed main beams (some 15 inches (38 cm) thick, and many period features.
The house was built in 1711, according to dendrochronological analysis of its main timbers by the PBS documentary program History Detectives in 2004. The eastern (right) side of the house, was built in 1711, and the western portion, to the left of the entryway, was built in 1713.
The house was long thought to date to 1685 (which is mounted on a plaque above the door), and to have been owned by Benjamin Abbot. Abbot was the son of an early colonial settler of Andover, and a carpenter by trade. Abbot accused Martha Carrier of witchcraft, alleging that she caused his foot to swell and a sore to open on it. This would was reported to heal after her arrest. The house was owned by generations of the Abbot family until 1933. In 1950 it was offered to the local historical society, which refused to offer on the grounds they could not afford to maintain it properly.