THE DALTON HOUSE
Because of the distinctive place that houses of the middle period hold
in the present architectural world, architects from all over the country
are now looking for specimens of these dwellings to which they may turn
for copy. The master builders of that time knew well their art, and
their work is characteristic of us as a nation. Houses of that period,
while comparatively similar in type to those of the old world, yet show
enough variation to make them interesting, and stand in favorable
comparison. There is the large, square house, three stories in height,
which came into vogue early in the nineteenth century. Then there is the
double-decked house with its roof ornamentations, and the plain house of
the purest colonial type, an illustration of the latter being the Dalton
house at Newburyport, Massachusetts.
This house stands on the principal street in Newburyport, a seaport
city, where in the days of commercial prosperity ships lined the
wharves, as they came and went in their traffic with foreign lands.
Those were the days when merchants made and lost fortunes, the days of
golden prosperity and of flashes of romance. To these days we turn as a
most interesting period of our country's architectural history.
In fancy we see the Newburyport of that day, situated on the banks of
the Merrimac River, a breezy old town propped up on a granite base. Its
principal street, three miles in length, overlooked the quays, where in
the olden days vessels arrived from Russia or Antwerp or perhaps from
the West Indies, laden with rich furs, strange wooden shoes, guava
jellies, wonderful old shawls, and many other exports that were piled
high on the now silent wharves.
[Illustration: PLATE LXX.--The Dalton House, Newburyport, Mass.]
On this the principal street stands the Dalton house, two and a half
stories in height, with gambrel roof and a wide, inviting porch--a
mansion that suggests the days when money was piled high in the coffers
and when the prosperous men flaunted their wealth, spending it freely,
not only in frequent entertainments but in equipages that were the envy
of the less fortunate townsmen. There were no more beautiful or
expensive carriages than those owned by Tristram Dalton, who
succeeded his father, Michael Dalton, in the ownership of the house.
When the mansion was first built, there was a spacious estate in keeping
with the house instead of the limited grounds that we see to-day. At the
rear, just back of the courtyard, were large, well-built stables, in
which were sheltered fine horses. Beyond, were gardens and grass lands,
for, when the estate was first planned, it consisted of three acres of
land bounded westerly on Greenleafs Lane, southerly on Nathan Hale's
land, easterly on Newman's land, and northeast or northerly on the land
of James Pierson.
Michael Dalton, who built the house in 1720, was a great-grandson of
Philemon Dalton, who came to New England in 1635. Michael was very
ambitious, and when quite young he left his father's home to engage in a
seafaring life. He made many successful voyages and augmented his wealth
to such a degree that he added greatly to the family possessions. Later
on he became a prominent merchant, and married in 1733 one Mary Little.
His means continuing to increase, he became interested in agricultural
pursuits and bought a country estate at Pipestave Hill at West Newbury.
Just before his death, he deeded his house to his son Tristram Dalton,
who became a prominent figure in American history.
Tristram Dalton was graduated from Harvard in 1755. There is still seen
in the house a portrait supposed to have been painted at about that
time. One of his closest intimates was a classmate, John Adams, their
friendship ending only with death. Young Dalton began studying law in
Salem but afterwards entered business with his father; in 1758 he
married Ruth Hooper, the daughter of Robert Hooper, a rich merchant of
Marblehead, familiarly known as "King" Hooper on account of his great
wealth. Until within the last few years there was a pane of glass in one
of the windows, on which was written with a diamond the name of Ruth
Hooper Dalton. It is still preserved and from letters kept is shown to
be a perfect facsimile of her handwriting.
During his life, he became devoted to public interests and was a very
prominent citizen of the town, the State, and nation. He served on
numerous town committees, was a delegate to the Provincial Congress, a
representative of the General Court, a Speaker of the House, a member of
the State Senate and a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of
1788, being a zealous advocate of the adoption of the Constitution. He
was ever active and energetic in his many efforts to reconcile political
differences. So successful was his political life that after a long and
sharply contested battle he was elected senator from 1789-1791.
He came of Irish descent and was considered one of the most learned,
wealthy, and influential persons in the country. He was a near and
confidential friend of President Washington, who induced him to remove
his household goods to the city of Washington, foreseeing that it would
eventually become one of the grandest cities in the country. There is a
portrait of Dalton painted by Blackburn, that is still kept in the
house, which shows him tall and well-formed, with fine, clear complexion
and smooth, open brow. His dress was after the fashion of the time, with
short clothes and knee breeches, coat with standing collar and broad
deep lapels faced with silk, white satin waistcoat, ruffled shirt bosom,
and deep lace cuffs. That he was fond of dress is shown from the
picture, his hair was puffed on either side, giving him an appearance of
dignity and age, and making it difficult to believe that the portrait is
of one so young. He was a fine specimen of a gentleman of the old
school and was well fitted to take a leading part in the best New
England societies. The distinguishing traits of his personality
continued all through his life, for even as late as 1816 we read of him
as erect, firm, and showing a fine presence. He was a man of emotions
rather than of ideas, the warmth and sincerity of his feelings lifting
him above all personal considerations and giving him that elevation and
nobility of character that appeals so strongly to one's affections.
At that period the Dalton house was noted for its hospitality, and many
men of national and world-wide fame, whose portraits hang upon the walls
to-day, were entertained therein. Stately hospitality continually opened
the door of this dwelling, to which had been brought from the
treasure-laden ships embroidered shawls, sheer muslins, and bright silks
for the ladies, as well as rich furniture for the house. During the
Daltons' life here, their house was a perfect treasure-house of
wonderfully fine old furniture, now generally scattered among the
descendants; but there are still kept in the mansion some wonderfully
fine specimens of Hepplewhite chairs, originally owned by the Daltons.
They were lavish entertainers, these Daltons, and it was here that
Washington came during a visit to Newburyport. He later writes that he
partook of an early breakfast at the home of his friend, Honorable
Tristram Dalton, on State Street. While he was being entertained at this
meal, an imperative voice was heard in the hallway demanding entrance to
the dining-room. Washington recognized the voice of his old servitor,
Toffee, and requested that he be admitted. The most cordial greeting
took place between the two, and the old commander gave to Toffee a
silver piece which the servant wore about his neck all the rest of his
life. It must have been an early breakfast, for Washington left town at
eight o'clock in the morning, crossing the river at Salisbury, two miles
above. This was no uncommon deviation for the president, as we find that
while visiting New England he was often entertained at the houses of
private citizens and personal friends.
In addition to George Washington, President Monroe, Talleyrand,
Jefferson in 1784, Lafayette in 1824, John Quincy Adams, and John
Hancock were also among the personages of note who accepted the
hospitality of this house.
On September 13, 1775, Colonel Benedict Arnold, at the head of his
troops, left Cambridge, dining at Mr. Tristram Dalton's on the Monday
following, before sailing from Newburyport to aid in the capture of
Quebec. The fleet consisted of eleven sailing vessels, which carried
eleven hundred men.
In those days lavish wealth blazed in the town, and the owner of the
Dalton house made the people sigh as he drove into town or to his
country-seat at Pipestave Hill in his white satin lined coach drawn by
six prancing white horses, with four outriders in white livery. Inside
were such guests as Talleyrand, George Peabody, and even that eccentric
personage, Lord Timothy Dexter, who had the ambition to figure in
genteel society and cultivated as much as possible the society of
Dalton. His coaches and open phaetons drawn by two or three spans of
horses with the liveried outriders, after the style of the nobility of
Europe, were more magnificent than were those of any other citizen of
the town. His sideboards were weighted with silver, and his chests
filled with money, for the incoming ships brought back great bags of
gold realized by the sale of cargoes in foreign lands, and large amounts
of money were kept in the house by the merchant princes of that day.
In addition to his large house in Newburyport, and his country-seat at
Pipestave Hill, Mr. Dalton had his fishing station, with boats and
outfits, on the banks of the Merrimac, while his hunting-lodge was in
the upper woods of West Newbury. All his surroundings were of a princely
nature, befitting the fortune that he owned.
Many were the weddings that took place here, among them being that of
Mary, the eldest daughter of Tristram Dalton, who, upon her marriage to
Honorable Leonard White of Haverhill, "drove out" in the large white
satin coach drawn by six prancing white horses with four white-liveried
outriders. Later on, her sister Ruth married Louis Deblois, a prominent
Boston merchant, leaving her home in the same coach.
The house itself is one of the best preserved buildings of that day. It
has never deteriorated, always being occupied by people of wealth. With
the growth of building in the town, the estate has become reduced, until
there is now very little of the original tract left. The courtyard has
disappeared, as have the expensive stables, for with the dwindling of
wealth the need of them has vanished. The house, which was built in
1720, is of gambrel-roof type and a fine example of that period. The
blinds are the same ones that were hung at the time when Michael Dalton
built the house. Its facade, the lines of which are dignified, seems
beaming with welcome.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXI.--Porch, Dalton House.]
Entrance to the house is through a colonial porch of ample dimensions,
showing dentation, which is supported by Corinthian columns; the hall is
lighted by a fanlight and sidelights on either side the wide, hospitable
door. The exterior is painted white, as it always has been. A feature of
the house is the wide clapboards. The original small-paned windows have
been kept, so that the exterior remains practically unchanged. Who the
carver was is unknown. It must be remembered that in those days ship
carvers were employed to work upon the ornamentation of the ships, so
that it was probably some one employed by the Daltons on their vessels
who designed and carried out the carving of the woodwork, both on the
exterior and in the interior.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXII.--Lower Hall, Dalton House; Upper Hall,
Dalton House.]
The entrance door gives into a large hall with wonderfully fine
panellings on either side. Each of the three balusters has a different
design. The stairs are box stairs leading by low treads to a wide
landing, where a colonial window admits a flood of light to the hall. A
second low flight of stairs leads to the second story, where the hall
corresponds with the lower one. It is here the Hepplewhite chairs are
found and also a wonderful picture of the late Tristram Dalton, painted
later in life than the one already mentioned. The woodwork in this house
is considered the finest to be found in any house in Newburyport. The
hall is finished in panel effects, but the door-casings and the
fireplaces in many instances show rich hand-carving.
The house contains twenty-five rooms, sixty cupboards, and ample halls,
and yet even then was scarcely large enough to accommodate the Dalton
family, their many guests, and their servants. Many of the latter were
slaves, who in those days were kept in the household. One of them was
buried on Burying Hill in Newburyport, and on a stone placed at the head
of his grave is carved "Faithful Pompey."
[Illustration: PLATE LXXIII.--Fireplaces, Dalton House.]
The living-room, or drawing-room as it was called in those days, is a
large, square room that is at the left of the hallway. In this room are
shown the pictures of many of the distinguished guests who in former
years were visitors at the house and intimate friends of the owner. The
fireplace is a large one, the woodwork hand-carved, and in the large
panels above has been inserted the Dalton coat of arms. The windows are
recessed, showing window-seats; each one has the hinged shutter such as
was used in the early days for security, being closed and barred every
night. These are still used in this same way in this mansion to-day. A
feature of this room is the fine wood-carving shown in the casing of the
door. At one side, hanging on the wall, is a scrap of the old wall-paper
that once adorned the wall. It is of seventeenth-century pattern, with
garlands, and is finished in light colors and pink groundwork, a
delicate and most unusual wall-paper. This is the only room in the
house, so far as is known, which was covered with the old-time
wall-paper.
At the right are double parlors which may have been used for
dining-room, or living-room and dining-room, combined. Here are also
found wonderful panellings, but very little of the elaborate
hand-carving. All of the wood in this house, as in most of the houses of
the same period, is of white pine, for this wood is considered one of
the best wearing kinds that has ever grown. The timbers are of solid oak
and are as staunch as they were in the days when the house was built. In
these rooms have been entertained the dignitaries of the land, while in
the parlor were celebrated the marriages of the daughters of the
household.
The mansion has an atmosphere of attraction and spaciousness rarely
found in houses of this description. It is shown in the abundance of
light and in the arrangement of the rooms, which have been planned for
elaborate entertaining. At the rear of the house are the servants'
quarters. The large, old-fashioned fireplace, where in former days the
cooking for the Dalton family was done, is now a thing of the past,
modern appliances having replaced the spit and the large brick oven. The
ell of the house, a part of which was removed, was originally nearly as
large as the main portion. It was once used exclusively for servants'
quarters, and even then was barely large enough for the enormous retinue
that was needed to run the Dalton household.
Up-stairs the rooms correspond to the large ones downstairs, with the
exception that on the right-hand side a partition divides what was
formerly a large room into two smaller ones. These rooms still show the
same fine panelling, the old-time brass locks and hardware that were
features of the house at the time of its building. They have never been
replaced by modern fixtures.
The third story was used for guests' rooms, the slope of the roof being
eliminated by boarding the gambrel roof so as to make square chambers.
The old chimneys, six feet square, have been taken down, and small ones
have replaced them. The railing of this house, which was originally a
two decker, has been removed and while not materially changing its
appearance, still gives it a little different look. An iron fence has
been substituted for the old paling fence which once enclosed the
grounds, while new posts have replaced the old ones. The courtyard is
grassed over, also the space between house and fence, and a wide, paved
stone walk leads to the entrance porch. In 1796 this house was sold,
together with Dalton's other residences, after he had been defeated for
re-election, a serious disappointment, although his letters written at
the time do not show any signs of anger or ill-nature.
The Pipestave Hill Great Farm residence was sold for thirty-seven
hundred pounds, while his land on State Street brought a much lower sum.
The house was practically cleared of all the Dalton furniture, the
household goods being carefully packed and shipped on a sailing vessel
bound to Georgetown, District of Columbia. During the voyage the vessel
was wrecked, and a part of his household belongings were thus lost.
Since then the house has passed into various hands. Fortunately the
different owners venerated the old homestead and it has been carefully
preserved, so that notwithstanding its many years of life, it is
practically in perfect condition.