Gedney and Cox Houses facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Gedney and Cox Houses
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Gedney House on the right, Cox House on the left
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | Salem, Massachusetts |
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| Built | 1665 |
| NRHP reference No. | 74000389 |
| Added to NRHP | October 1, 1974 |
The Gedney and Cox Houses are very old and important homes located at 21 High Street in Salem, Massachusetts. The oldest part of the Gedney House was built around 1665. These houses were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, which means they are officially recognized as special historical sites. Today, Historic New England owns them and sometimes offers tours.
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Gedney House: A Glimpse into the Past
_-_Salem,_Massachusetts.JPG)
_-_Salem,_Massachusetts.JPG)
The Gedney House is a historic home from the Colonial American period. It was built around 1665. This style of building is called "First Period" architecture. You can find it at 21 High Street in Salem. The Gedney and Cox Houses are run as a museum by Historic New England. It is not often open to the public, but special tours can sometimes be arranged.
Who Lived Here? The Gedney Family
The house was built for Eleazor Gedney. He was a wealthy shipwright, meaning he built and repaired ships. Eleazor was part of the important Gedney family. He bought the land in April 1664, which was close to the water where he built his boats. He got married in June 1665. The first part of the house was built around this time.
How the House Grew Over Time
The original house had two stories with a gabled attic on one side. It also had a parlor with a lean-to roof on the other. There were also parts at the back that are now gone. We know about these parts from a list of Eleazer's belongings made in 1683. This list mentioned rooms like the "hall," "parlour," and "Kitchin."
Around 1703 to 1706, the lean-to parlor was made into a full two-story room. The biggest changes happened around 1800. A new two-story lean-to was added at the back. Also, a kitchen was built in the basement. Around 1962, the main chimney was taken out. The inside of the house was also stripped. The Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities bought the house in 1967. This group is now called Historic New England.
Special Features of the Gedney House
The house is important because of its strong wooden structure. It also has very old paint and decorations that are still there. In one of the rooms, called the hall chamber, you can see three different color schemes. The oldest one is thought to be from when the house was first built.
In 2002, experts from the University of Oxford studied the wood from the house. They used a method called Dendrochronology. This is a way to date wood by looking at its tree rings. They found that the trees used for the house were cut down in the spring of 1664 and the winter of 1664/5. This helped confirm when the house was built.
