- Built
- c. 1880–1902
- Style
- Queen Anne Queen Anne
- MACRIS
- NWB.2021 ↗
History
This house exhibits several features of the Queen Anne style, popular during the late 19th Century. These include irregularity of plan and massing, variety of surface textures, and round-arched windows. Gables, porches, and turrets are also standard features of this style.
The original owner(s) of this double house have not been officially documented. Still, Lemuel Marquand and Leverett DeVeber seem likely candidates.
Lemuel Marquand (1838 - 1905), who, according to the 1910 US Census, lived at 3 Pond Street, was a famous shipbuilder and was heavily involved in local business. He seems to have had an extensive real estate portfolio, as he purchased several homes and businesses throughout the city at the end of the Nineteenth Century, right up until he died in 1905. His wife, Josephine Marquand, continued to live in the house with her daughter and son-in-law, Leroy Berry, until she died in 1921.
Leverett Isaac DeVeber (1860 - 1919) lived on Lime Street according to the 1900 Census, but is listed at 5 Pond Street in the 1910 Census. He is shown to own a Grocery Store. He and his wife, Sarah Belle, were both born in Canada and are living at the Pond Street home with their 23-year-old daughter, Grace E.
By 1939, and well into the 1940s, 5 Pond Street is advertised as a Nursing Home, an Osteopathic Physician’s office, and a “Hobby House with regular weekly rates or meals.” The St. Jaques family lived at 5 Pond Street, into the middle of the Twentieth Century.
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 35-60 · Zone R3
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. 1880–1902, 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 →
More photos
1 view · Biff Bouse
From the archive
8 items · maps, papers, old photographs
More built 1860–1900
Sources
- Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, NWB.2021