48 Boardman Street

History

The house at 48 Boardman Street is an exceptionally well-preserved, late-Georgian, wood-framed dwelling dating to ca. 1799. The building presents a symmetrical, five-bay façade beneath a prominent gambrel roof, a roof form widely used in Newburyport in the late 18th century for the additional usable attic space it provided. The front elevation exemplifies the refinement and proportional discipline typical of the Georgian idiom.

The structure rises two full stories above a raised granite-block foundation. It is clad in narrow wooden clapboards, with evenly spaced, tightly executed courses, producing a smooth horizontal surface that reinforces the building’s formal symmetry. Plain cornerboards define the corners, and the wall plane is capped by a simple classical cornice running the full length of the façade.

The gambrel roof, sheathed in wooden shingles, retains its historic massing with minimal alteration. The lower gambrel pitch is broad and visually substantial, while the upper pitch is more restrained, producing the compact yet efficient roof profile characteristic of Newburyport’s 18th-century building practices. The roof overhang is modest, in keeping with Georgian design preferences, and the rakes are finished with simple yet tidy molding profiles.

Fenestration is one of the building’s strongest surviving character-defining elements. The primary façade features nine (9) evenly spaced window openings on the two main stories, arranged symmetrically around the center entrance. The windows are wood, double-hung sash, exhibiting a 6-over-6 light configuration typical of late-18th- and early-19th-century dwellings in Newburyport. The muntin profiles, proportions, and glazing pattern are consistent with the sash widely used during the transition from the Georgian to the Federal period. Each window is set within a flat-board surround and flanked by traditional louvered wooden shutters with raised-panel bases. The shutters have correctly scaled louvers and narrow stiles, complementing the historic character of the façade.

The center entrance is the most architecturally distinguished element of the front elevation and one of the finest surviving Georgian doorways in this part of the city. The door is framed by a pair of fluted pilasters rising to a fully articulated classical entablature, which supports a triangular pediment. The pediment is enriched with dentil molding, demonstrating the builder’s familiarity with high-style Georgian pattern-book motifs. The door itself is a six-panel wooden door with raised panels typical of the period, and the entrance is further enhanced by a granite step and short granite stair, both sympathetic to the home’s age and setting.

Taken together, the façade’s symmetrical bay arrangement, its well-preserved gambrel roof, the finely executed classical entry, and the survival of historic window openings and sash all contribute to its exceptional architectural integrity. Viewed from the street, the property continues to convey the aesthetic, material, and spatial character of a high-quality, late-Georgian dwelling built for a socially prominent maritime family in post-Revolutionary Newburyport.

This home was built by Stephen Hale and was first occupied by Captain James Clarkson. The Clarkson family owned it for much of the nineteenth century. By 1872, Mrs. James Clarkson was listed as the owner. Also residing in the house at that time were John W. Clarkson, a machinist, and Margaret Clarkson, a teacher. Margaret Clarkson taught at the Putnam Free School between 1866 and 1868 and served as preceptress there from 1868 to 1889.