Derby House - Salem, Massachusetts
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THE architecture of the Colonial period in America is characterized by its adherence to the European traditions brought over by the colonists, although, within the limits imposed by these traditions, it shows a remarkable degree of initiative. The earlier work derives from a Jacobean tradition, the later follows closely Georgian precedent. This following of tradition was natural and inevitable in the case of colonies whose population was being constantly renewed by fresh arrivals from Europe, and the importation of large
quantities of building materials further increased this tendency.
On the other hand, the American architects and builders of the period, when they encountered unfamiliar problems, were able to solve them with great ingenuity. The abundance of wood and its ease of working produced a remarkable growth of wooden houses entirely different from any European type. But besides these wooden houses, brick houses were also built, though they were always less numerous, because of their greater cost. The oldest examples were built with bricks imported from England and Holland, but at a rather early period a flourishing brick-making industry grew up, particularly in the neighborhood of the larger cities.
In general it may be stated that the brick houses in America follow European tradition more closely than those of wood-- due to the importation of much of their material, the fact that they were built in many cases by European workmen, and their location in centers of trade, usually in or near seaports where contact with Europe was more general and intimate. Salem, Newburyport, and Portsmouth, all flourishing ports in the days of the clipper ships, show many houses of this type, while in such centers as Boston and New York they were formerly very numerous, but have largely been demolished to make way for later types of building.
Front Elevation, Cradock House, Medford, Mass.
Measured and Drawn by George H. Higgins and Edwin J. Hipkiss
Peter Tufts House (formerly and incorrectly known as the Cradock House) built between 1677-1678
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