Historic New England: Dole-Little House

Several weeks ago during Historic New England (HNE) Open House Day on the first Saturday in June, I visited Dole-Little House in Newbury, MA. This property — built with materials from another house around 1715 for either cattleman Richard Dole (1650-1723) or his nephew Richard Dole (1689-1778) — is rarely open to the public. The Dole and Little families were long-time North Shore residents, as cattleman Richard Dole’s father Richard Dole (1622-1705) was among the first European colonists to settle in the area. A distantly related branch of the Little family owned Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, another HNE property in Newbury that I visited in mid September of last year.

Dole-Little House shares architectural features commonly found in 17^th century and early 18^th century American houses, also called Late Medieval, First Period, or early colonial style. The original building had two rooms with a big chimney in the the center with a small kitchen in the back. Chamfered beams and wood paneling act as decoration in the otherwise plain structure. Some fireplaces are narrow with a slanting back. Another unique feature is the three-part stairway split in half by the enormous red brick chimney on its way into the two-part attic. As the Dole family grew, they haphazardly added rooms to the house. The property remained in the Dole family for about six generations until 1878 when Nathaniel Dole sold it to Francis Little and his family, including daughters Harriet S. Little and Charlotte Fletcher Little Choate. The house returned to the Dole family with Eleanor Dole Fillmore purchasing the property in 1948.

After Fillmore passed away in 1951, local historian and philanthropist Mrs. Florence Evans Bushee acquired the property and hired restoration contractor Roy William Baker to bring the house back to its original form. Baker did his best based on what he knew about houses from the time period, but many of his modifications would not be done today. Baker confirmed that the house was made of salvaged framing from an even older house. He took out the mid-18^th century double hung windows and replaced them with early 18^th century leaded casement window that were much smaller than the original style. The newly opened National Museum of History and Technology, now called the National Museum of American History and part of the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., wanted the wood paneling in one chamber of the house, so Mrs. Bushee gifted it to them and installed convincing reproductions in their place. The end result was a romanticized version of the time period as imagined by designers from the 1950s.

The precursor to HNE, Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA) received the property after Mrs. Bushee died in 1975. Today, HNE considers the house “architecturally and historically significant” because of its idiosyncratic restoration. Several construction companies evidently believe this, too, as they sell floor plans to reproduce the house with added modern conveniences like electricity and plumbing. The tour itself, led by the home’s historian-in-residence, focuses mainly on the mid-20^th century touches based on the original 18^th century design, and his early 21^st century furniture adds to the complexity of the space.

Dole-Little House is generally open to the public only three times a year: during the Open House on the first Saturday in June, and the Saturday and Sunday closest to the beginning of October. Tickets are free to all during the open house. For the October weekend, tickets are standard HNE small house pricing at $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $5 for students and children, and $0 to HNE members and Newbury residents. Members can arrange a “Private Heritage Tour” by contacting HNE during the regular season. Parking is plentiful in a gravel lot between the house and the local boat ramp, especially on rainy days. Like most historic properties, Dole-Little House is not accessible to those with limited mobility. No virtual tour is available at this time. This tour is highly specialized and may not be exciting for everyone. However, if you have ever wondered what it is like to live in a very old house as a modern person, this is the tour for you.

Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 8/10

Accessibility: 7/10