The Dole-Little House, Newbury, Massachusetts c. 1715

Dole-Little House

289 High Road,

Newbury, Massachusetts

I had to wait all summer for October 6, 2018, to tour this house, because it is only open to the public twice a year. We were lucky enough to get a parking spot because there were a lot of us anxious to get inside. It isn't the most beautiful or historic of houses, but we wanted the thrill of seeing inside.

It isn't like other houses, mostly because there are no original furnishings or belongings inside. There is sketchy information, but it has character. It looked like it needed a lot of work to bring it up to snuff; a new roof and a major paint job would have improved the appearance. Also, new period windows. A new owner purchased the house in 1954 and it "was restored to a year later to reflect the original period." "The paneling from one chamber was removed and reinstalled as an exhibition room at the National Museum of History and Technology in Washington, D.C." (From flyer below.)

Three windows, ca 1954.

I loved the size and shape of the windows, so I took plenty of photos, as well as one huge chimney in the middle of the house that was cut out into four fireplaces, two large ones on the first floor, and two smaller ones on the second floor. We were told that the base of the chimney in the basement takes up almost half the cellar. If you look at the first photo, you'll only see one chimney.

The first room was furnished for the caretaker and is his dining room. Of course, I couldn't resist some color, it was quite dark in there.

Second fireplace in 2nd large room, first floor.

Oh yes, another window with a view! Good thing the weather was warm.

There is a double staircase leading to the third floor. Glad we didn't have to go up there.

Example of 2nd-floor room, see what I mean about the furnishings.

Two additional fireplaces on the second floor, much smaller in size.

Parker River, in front of the house, as shown below.

Nice view from Google Maps, showing the Dole-Little House, Parker River, and Rt. 1A.

(Photo taken 2013.)

Located a short distance away on another street, is this memorial.

 First Settlers of Newbury, MA monument.

1902
LANDING PLACE
OF THE
FIRST SETTLERS
1635

For those who have an interest in Newbury, here are a few posts I've written:

Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm and House since 1690 (June 2018)

Robert Adams Buried in Newbury, MA and a Nice Surprise (Aug. 2013)

First Settlers of Newbury, Massachusetts (Aug. 2013)

Where the First Settlers of Newbury, Massachusetts Landed and Lived (Sept. 2013)

I want to share a comment I received (note: my comment section is closed, so

Ryan sent me an email. Some of you might be interested in his genealogy.

"Ryan Noyes <ryan.w.noyes@gmail.com>	Fri, Oct 12, 4:13 PM (18 hours ago)
to Barbara.trees4u

Dear Barb,

Greetings from Philadelphia.  Got your email address via your blog, which I discovered via your blog post via the New England Genealogy Facebook group.  Your images of the Dole-Little house are fantastic!  -- much better quality than the one I see on the house's Wikipedia page.  Requesting if Paul Noyes and I use a few of your images for Richard Dole Jr.'s profile on Noyesgenealogy.net, our family's online genealogy database?  

I descend from Richard Jr.'s sister, Jane, who married my 7th g-grandfather.  

I'll of course credit you for the images, if you allow us to use them. Great blog post btw!  Thanks for sharing!

Warm regards,

Ryan Noyes"