- Built
- c. 1890
- Style
- Queen Anne Queen Anne
- Neighborhood
- High Street District
- MACRIS
- NWB.1486 ↗
- Formerly
- 218 High Street
History
Joseph Edward Moody (1841-1916) served during the Civil War with the 48th. Massachusetts Infantry, and re-enlisted in early 1864 with the 59th Mass. Infantry. He was captured on June 15, 1864, at Chickahominy, Virginia. While a POW in Georgia, he was put in a big stockade, and while there, he met other POWs from Newburyport.
As winter took hold, the group of five men worked together to build a shared shelter in the stockade. When finished, they affixed it with a sign overhead carved with the name Newburyport.
In the winter of 1865, they were told the Confederates were going to move them somewhere else. But before they left, they burned their shelter so none of the Confederates would ever “capture Newburyport.”
When the men returned home, they posed together for a picture to commemorate their triumph in captivity. Moody died in 1916 while living at this home on High Street, and his name is listed among so many others on the tablets in Atkinson Common.
Planning work on this building?
Reviews that may apply
Newburyport Historic District (National Register, listed 1984), contributing in the 1984 nomination · Demolition Control Overlay District (DCOD) · Parcel 51-10 · Zone R2
Zoning Board of Appeals decides
Listed as contributing in 1984, so removing more than 25% of its exterior walls, counted cumulatively since 2014 and including walls enclosed by an addition or openings filled in, needs a DCOD special permit; the Board may grant one only if the building retains no substantial remaining market value or reasonable use. The Historical Commission sends an advisory report. Replacing siding, or windows and doors in their openings, does not count.
Newburyport Historical Commission decides whether to impose a delay
Built c. 1890, so 75 or more years old: removing more than 25% of its exterior walls, changing the roofline (pitch, towers, cupolas, anything projecting above the roof), moving it, or adding a dormer that misses the setback and pitch rules is "demolition" under the demolition delay ordinance. The Commission holds a hearing within 30 days and may impose a delay of up to 18 months. In the DCOD the wall test goes to the Zoning Board instead; the Commission keeps roofline, roof pitch and dormer work. Parts of the building documented as younger than 75 years are excluded on a written determination by the Zoning Administrator.
Code of Ordinances ch. 5 art. X, §§5-307–5-308 (June 2026) ↗
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.
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 →
From the archive
6 items · maps, papers, old photographs
More built 1860–1900
Sources
- Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System - NWB.1486
- Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Newburyport, Essex County, Massachusetts. Sanborn Map Company, Jan 1900. Map.
- “Meeting of D.A.R.” Newburyport Daily News, Wednesday, February 10, 1904, p. 5.
- “United States Census, 1880,” database with images, FamilySearch, Massachusetts > Essex > Newburyport > ED 223 > image 7 of 46.
- “United States Census, 1900,” database with images, FamilySearch, Massachusetts > Essex > ED 423 Newburyport city Ward 5 > image 19 of 20.
- “Struck By Wheels Of A Carriage” Newburyport Daily News, Tuesday, August 23, 1910.
- “Colonial Exhibit” Newburyport Daily News, Tuesday, February 20, 1912, p. 1.
- “More Breaks Are Reported” Newburyport Daily News, Monday, August 24, 1914, p. 2.
- “Death Claims Leading Resident” Newburyport Daily News, October 20, 1916, p 1, p 8.
- Find A Grave, Joseph Edward Moody, memorial ID 102197346.
- “Were your relatives here?” Lynne Hendricks, Newburyport Daily News, March 28, 2013.
- 1914 Sanborn map, sheet 8 (Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division, Sanborn Maps Collection)