High Street · No. 124 · NWB.28

124 High Street

Sewall Place

Built 1775–1830National Register district

Built: c. 1814
Style: Federal Federal
Neighborhood: High Street District
MACRIS: NWB.28 ↗

History

This house is an excellent example of the Federal homes built by Newburyport's wealthy mercantile class during the early years of the Nineteenth Century. The form of the house is typically Federal, of three stories with hipped roof and decreasing window size in the upper stories. Exceptional architectural features are the splayed brownstone window lintels and the pedimented entrance portico supported by the Roman Doric order.

This parcel of land was owned by the family of Stephen Sewell at the turn of the Nineteenth Century. In 1806 Charles Hodge acquired one tenth of the land known as Sewall Place. He purchased the rest of the property shortly thereafter and built this house.

Hodge was a merchant and very active in Newburyport's political affairs. He was one of the singers of the petition to set off the "Water side" portion of Newbury as a separate town. In 1773 he was appointed to a committee to cooperate with committee of correspondence in Boston during the trying times prior to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. In 1823 the hay scales for the town were moved to a convenient location ear the corner of High and Pond Streets at the Southeast end of the mall. At that time Capt. Charles Hodge, residing close by, was appointed to take charge of the scales.

Charles Hodge and his family owned "Sewall Place" until 1847. Between that year and 1863 the owner was LePrelette Ingraham. Ingraham was a machinist with a machine shop on Fair Street.

Subsequent owners were Ellen C. Kane, Elize A. Pike, Willard J. Hale, Elisha R. Brown, and Therese Tehmen. It was later owned by Todd Woodworth who operated the Woodworth Funeral Home in this building.

Woodworth became known as the "city historian" and was often asked to help find the gravesites of some of the early citizens of Newburyport. In 1988, he started his "Tiptoe Through the Tombstones" walking history tour. His daughter, Ghlee Woodworth, continues this tradition, and in 2008 published "Tiptoe Through the Tombstones, Oak Hill Cemetery, Volume 1," that features detailed history, stories, and maps.

Planning work on this building?

Reviews that may apply

Newburyport Historic District (National Register, listed 1984) · Downtown Overlay District (DOD) · Parcel 13-23-A/G · Zone R3

Planning Board decides
Downtown, new construction, alteration or demolition of a historic building (individually listed or contributing in 1984) needs a DOD special permit, judged against the Secretary of the Interior's Standards; the Historical Commission sends an advisory report. Replacing windows, doors, signs, awnings or fences is reviewed by the Planning Office at staff level, with a window inventory; a new opening in a wall needs the Board. This lot is in an underlying R3 district, where alterations (not demolition) of a one- or two-family house are excluded from DOD review. The demolition delay ordinance does not apply downtown except to work the Zoning Administrator excludes from DOD review.
Zoning Ordinance §XXVII ↗
Zoning Administrator first stop
Every project starts with a zoning determination from the Zoning Administrator, which says which of these reviews apply and whether the work also needs zoning relief (a special permit for a non-conformity, or a variance). Fees, forms and filing deadlines are on the City’s site.
City flowchart, June 2026 ↗

Not legal advice, not an official City publication, and not the position of the Historical Commission or any board. Says what the ordinances say as of September 30, 2026; the Zoning Administrator decides what applies. Boundaries: Merrimack Valley Planning Commission / City of Newburyport GIS (MIMAP); 1984 status from the National Register nomination's district data sheets. City's quick guide to the DCOD and demolition delay ↗ · Do I need approval? Project by project →