- Built
- c. 1800
- Style
- Federal Federal
- Neighborhood
- Merrimack Shipbuilding District
- MACRIS
- NWB.270 ↗
- Formerly
- 264 Merrimac Street
History
This house has several significant features of the Federal style. The house is three stories tall with a hipped roof. It probably had a symmetrical five-bay facade, with a bay-end wall facing Merrimac Street. Today, the facade has but five windows in an asymmetrical arrangement. The house does retain its original projecting entrance porch.
This parcel of land was sold to Samuel Remick by Ebenezer Savory in 1795. In 1804, Remick conveyed the property to Caleb Brown with the house thereon. Caleb Brown was a blacksmith. He owned much of the property in the Merrimac Court area during the early nineteenth century. This area was in the heart of Newburyport’s shipbuilding district. The John J. Currier shipyard was directly north of this property on the banks of the Merrimack.
In 1847, this house was purchased by Abner Kenniston, an ironworker in the shipyard. Kenniston lived at what is now 313 Merrimac Street. He bought this house for his daughter, Elizabeth, who lived here until 1879.
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 65-17 · Zone WMD
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. 1800, 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
2 items · maps, papers, old photographs
More built 1775–1830
Sources
- Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, NWB.270
- 1914 Sanborn map, sheet 3b (Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division, Sanborn Maps Collection)