Captain Robert Bennet Forbes House facts for kids
|
Capt. Robert B. Forbes House
|
|
Front facade, in 2009
|
|
 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | Milton, Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Built | 1833 |
| Architect | Isaiah Rogers |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000651 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
|
| Added to NRHP | November 13, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | November 13, 1966 |
The Captain Robert Bennet Forbes House, also known as the Forbes House Museum, is a special house in Milton, Massachusetts. It's now a National Historic Landmark, which means it's a very important historical place. You can visit it to learn about an interesting American family and their adventures in the China Trade long ago.
Contents
Discover the Forbes House Museum
This museum shows the history of the Forbes family. They were a family of entrepreneurs involved in the China Trade. This was a time in the 1800s when American ships traded goods like tea and silk with China.
The House's Unique Design
The house was built in 1833 for Margaret Perkins. Her sons, Captain Robert Bennet Forbes and John Murray Forbes, helped build it. A famous Boston architect named Isaiah Rogers designed the house. It has an unusual Greek Revival style. This house is one of only two early homes by Rogers that still exist today.
Captain Forbes and Rogers worked together on the design. They even added some cool nautical (ship-related) features. Inside, there's an amazing elliptical staircase. It looks like a lighthouse staircase and goes up three floors. It leads to a cupola, which is a small dome on the roof. From there, you could watch ships arriving at Boston Harbor.
The house walls are very thick, about 18 inches (46 cm) wide. They were originally covered with special wood siding called shiplap. The top floor used to have round porthole windows, just like a ship! In the 1880s, the roof was raised, and regular windows were put in. The inside of the house hasn't changed much. Only modern things like plumbing and electricity were added later.
_-_parlor.jpg)
The Forbes family lived in this house for four generations. They lived there until 1962. Then, in 1964, a family member named H. A. Crosby Forbes opened it as a museum. Today, the museum is filled with the family's original furniture and art. It also has many items from the American, European, and China Trade. The museum also has a large collection of Abraham Lincoln items. These were collected by Captain Forbes's granddaughter, Mary Bowditch Forbes. A copy of Lincoln's birthplace cabin was even built on the museum grounds.
Who Lived Here? The Forbes Family
The Forbes House was home to several interesting family members. They each played a part in the house's history.
Margaret Perkins Forbes (1773–1856)
Margaret Perkins was the first person to live in the Forbes House. Her sons built the house especially for her. She came from one of Boston's wealthiest and most important families.
Captain Robert Bennet Forbes (1804–1889) and John Murray Forbes (1813–1898)
These two brothers were among Margaret Perkins's seven children. Both brothers started working on ships when they were young. They made their living in the China Trade. They built this house for their mother. It was also a way to honor their brother, Thomas Tunno Forbes, who died in a typhoon at age 26. While they helped build it, neither brother lived in this specific house.
James Murray Forbes (1845–1937) and Alice Francis Bowditch (1848–1929)
After Margaret Perkins and her daughters passed away, Captain Robert Forbes's son, James, and his wife, Alice, moved into the house. They were responsible for many of the updates and changes made to the house in the 1870s.
Mary Bowditch Forbes (1878–1962)
Mary Bowditch Forbes was the last family member to live in the house. She greatly admired President Lincoln. She collected many items connected to him. In 1923, she even had a replica of Lincoln's log cabin built right on the property.
What Can You See at the Museum?
The Forbes House Museum has many interesting things to see.
- Items that belonged to the Forbes family.
- Goods from the China Trade, like beautiful porcelain, tea, and silk.
- Artworks from the Forbes family's own collections.
- Stories and pictures that explain the history of the Forbes family and Milton, Massachusetts.
See also
