Ropes Mansion facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ropes Mansion |
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The Ropes Mansion, with First Unitarian Church in the background
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| General information | |
| Type | House |
| Architectural style | Georgian |
| Location | Salem, Massachusetts |
| Address | 318 Essex Street |
| Coordinates | 42°31′16″N 70°53′59″W / 42.5212°N 70.8998°W |
| Completed | c. 1727 (PEM) c. 1729 (MACRIS) |
The Ropes Mansion is an old house built in the Georgian style. You can find it at 318 Essex Street in Salem, Massachusetts. We don't know the exact year it was built. However, historians generally agree it was constructed around the late 1720s.
Over the years, the house has had some big changes. A fancy entrance with Ionic columns was added. A back section, called an "ell," was also built in the 1800s. During this time, the house was also moved further back from Essex Street. This might have been because the road was being made wider. In the early 1900s, the Ropes Mansion was given to a group called the "Trustees of the Ropes Memorial." They built the beautiful garden behind the house. Today, the Peabody Essex Museum runs the mansion. You can take self-guided tours there during certain times of the year.
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Who Lived in the Ropes Mansion?
The house we now call the Ropes Mansion was first built in the late 1720s. It was made for a merchant named Samuel Barnard. He came from Deerfield, Massachusetts. The house had wooden siding and was 2.5 stories tall. It had five windows across the front and two on the side. The roof was a gambrel style, covered with slate tiles.
Samuel Barnard had survived an attack by Native Americans in Deerfield in 1704. After his first wife and baby son passed away, he moved to Salem in 1720. There, he married his second wife, Rachel. She was the widow of his cousin. Samuel Barnard became a very successful merchant in Salem. He was quite wealthy when the house was built for him. Samuel Barnard lived a long life, outliving three of his four wives. He died in 1762. His nephew later sold the house to Judge Nathaniel Ropes in 1768.
Nathaniel Ropes: A Judge in Changing Times
Nathaniel Ropes finished his law degree at Harvard University in 1745. He started his career as a lawyer. He represented Salem in the colonial government in 1760 and 1761. From 1762 to 1768, he served on the Governor’s Council. He was also a judge for different courts. In 1772, he became a justice on the highest court, the Superior Court of Judicature.
Judge Ropes soon faced a difficult situation. This was about how judges were paid back then. Even though he knew important patriots like John Adams, he still held views that supported the British King. These views were called "loyalist." Just before or during the American Revolutionary War, a crowd of people gathered outside his house. They were protesting his loyalist beliefs. One story says this happened in March 1774. At that time, Ropes was very sick with smallpox. The protest is said to have made his condition worse, and he passed away the next day.
How the Ropes Mansion Changed Over Time
After Nathaniel Ropes died, the house stayed in the Ropes family for many years. The inside of the house was greatly updated in 1807. Around 1830, the central entrance with its "fluted Ionic columns" was added. Five rooms inside and the main hallway were also remodeled at this time.
Major changes happened to the Ropes Mansion in 1894. A new section, called an "ell," was added to the back. The house was also moved further back from Essex Street. Earlier plans from the 1880s show ideas for additions. The house was made bigger at the back. A 2.5-story kitchen and service area were added. There was also a large, single-story wing at the very back.
The house was also made more modern. Electricity and plumbing were installed. The inside was updated in the Colonial Revival style. The white wooden fence you see in the front yard today was also added then. The Ropes family lived in the house until 1907. This was when the last of three Ropes sisters passed away.
In their wills, the sisters gave the house to the "Essex Institute." They wanted it to be a "free school of botany" (the study of plants). They also wanted it to be a memorial to their family. A dirt path next to the house leads to a beautiful garden. This formal garden was created in 1912. The "Essex Institute" later joined with the Peabody Essex Museum in 1992. Today, the Ropes Mansion is a museum owned by the Peabody Essex Museum. They offer tours, allowing only a certain number of people inside at one time.
See also
- The Witch House - another historic place in Salem on Essex Street.
- List of historic houses in Massachusetts
