82 Curzon Mill Road

History

This house presents an unusual and evolved form, likely shaped in part by a series of fires that destroyed portions of the original structure. Substantial alterations and multiple rear additions have further contributed to its present configuration.

The primary block is two stories tall, capped by a hipped roof, and features a symmetrical three-bay façade. The central entrance is marked by a projecting pedimented porch. Notably, according to John Mead Howells, the prominent bay window on the side elevation was designed by Henry H. Richardson, adding architectural interest and significance to the otherwise modest structure.

According to John P. Marquand, this house was constructed around 1780, while John Mead Howells places its date earlier in the eighteenth century. The precise year of construction has not yet been documented. Marquand asserted that Stephen Hooper of Newburyport was the original owner and builder. In 1820, the property, together with the adjacent mill, was acquired by Samuel Curzon, a Newburyport merchant active in prominent Boston circles. The Curzon family and their heirs have retained ownership from that time to the present.

Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the Curzon estate hosted many distinguished visitors, including members of the Peabody, Norton, and Eliot families. The poet John Greenleaf Whittier was a frequent guest. In the twentieth century, the property became closely associated with John P. Marquand, who grew up there and used the mill as his study during the 1920s. The estate remains in the family, owned today by his daughter, Christina Welch Marquand.