17 Federal Street

History

This house is a fine example of Georgian domestic architecture. Important architectural details include the deep hipped roof, the modillioned cornice, the projecting brick belt course between the first and second stories, and the elegant entrance porch. The porch resembles a classical temple in miniature. It is pedimented. The cornice contains a Doric frieze and is supported by Doric pillars.

This building was probably built about 1780. It bears quite a resemblance to several other Georgian homes built in Newburyport during the final decades of the eighteenth century. The original owner of this house was William Pierce Johnson. The Johnson family was prominent among Newburyport’s shipbuilders. They built ships in the Lower Shipyard at the foot of Chandler’s Lane, now Federal Street. William Pierce Johnson was a successful shipmaster. After the Revolutionary War, he was involved in the West Indies trade in his own right. By 1790, he was one of Newburyport’s ten wealthiest men. He died in 1804.

In 1851, Eleazer Johnson owned this house. He was born on November 12, 1790, the son of William Pierce Johnson. Eleazer Johnson was elected town clerk in 1831 and served for 20 years. After Newburyport was incorporated as a city, he held the position until he died in 1870.

For most of the 20th century, the house was owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. It was used as a school by the Church of St. Louis de Gonzaga. A plaque commemoration has been placed on the front of the building that reads: “Former home of the ‘French School’ and Mr. Murray’s Nursery School.” In 2003, the property was purchased for renovation and conversion into a multi-family dwelling.