- Built
- c. 1799
- Style
- Georgian Georgian
- Neighborhood
- High Street District
- MACRIS
- NWB.18 ↗
History
Though built during the Federal period, this building is Georgian in character. The gambrel roof, often indicative of a mid-eighteenth-century construction date, persists into the nineteenth century in Newburyport.
The hipped roof addition on the southeast side of the house is more in character with the period of the house and is quite possibly a later addition. The house is symmetrical, as should be the case in either the Georgian or Federal period. The doorway and porch date from the Greek Revival period, as evidenced by the fluted Greek Doric columns and the heavy entablature above.
Ebenezer Greenleaf, Jr. acquired the land on which this house sits in 1795. It was built soon after, believed to have been in 1799. The house stayed in the family until 1839 when it was conveyed to Albert Wood.
Albert Wood owned the steam-propelled ship Decatur, built by Stephen Jackman Jr. The vessel first traveled from Newburyport to Boston on April 21, 1845, with Joseph Bartlett as master. The house was passed on to Albert’s heirs in 1871, and it remained in the Wood family until 1926 when Katharine D. Hale purchased it.
Albert Hale, author of Old Newburyport Houses, owned the house from 1930 until 1945, the date of his death.
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 33-38 · Zone HSRA
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. 1799, 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
4 items · maps, papers, old photographs
More built 1775–1830
Sources
- Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, NWB.18
- “Plan of Newburyport Mass. from an actual survey.” H. McIntyre, 1851. Map.
- “Greenleaf-Wood House” Old Newburyport Houses, Albert Hale, 1912. Book.
- “Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Newburyport, Essex County, Massachusetts.” Sanborn Map Company, Oct, 1914. Map.
- Biff Bouse, Instagram post (@newburyportarchitecture), 2025-03-20