SAL.1631 Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System
Scanned Record Cover Page
Inventory No: SAL.1631 .
Historic Name: Ferguson,William House .
Common Name: Knight, William House
Address: 6-8 River St --
` lCity/Town: Salem
Village/Neighborhood: Central Salem;
Local No: 26-615;
Year Constructed: C 1790
Architectural Style(s): Federal;
Use(s): Multiple Family Dwelling House; Single Family Dwelling House;
Significance: Architecture;
Area(s): SAL.HD, SAL.HL, SAL.HU
Designation(s): Nat'l Register District(10/04/1978); Local Historic District(03/03/1981);
Building Materials: Roof:Asphalt Shingle;
Wall:Wood;Wood Clapboard;
Foundation: Granite; Stone, Cut;
Demolished No
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FORM B - BUILDING NRDIS 10/4/78.LHD 3/3/81
X. \ Assessor's Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
f % _ 26-615 Salem HU A 1631
C Town Salem
CL
Place(neighborhood or village) Central Salem
Address 6-8 River St.
Historic Name William Ferguson House
Uses: Present Single Family Dwelling
Original Single Family Dwelling
Date of Construction Circa 1790
Source HSI
Style/Form Federal
Architect/Builder Unknown
Exterior Material:
Foundation
6i A Wall/Trim Wood Clapboard
�� ..• '• Roof Asphalt
616 617
c M,• ' tz 636 Outbuildings/Secondary Structures
10� � •aF
w " 623
R' STR 4.
i 6 /0.100
p105
' `�,• :"` < Major Alterations(with dates)
r „ e
i�o • 1 STREET .
• A A,,DDYER r �'
-,* !! - �p s Condition Fair
• a E ,�j2 7' c
s?6 g `"° Moved x no ves Date
Acreage Less than 1 Acre
Recorded by Leslie Donovan Setting Set at the sidewalk in an area of 19th
Organization Salem Planning Department &20th Century houses
Date(month/year) 2/96
Follow Massachusetts Historical Co snon Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
BUILDING FORM 6-8 River Street, Salem
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION see continuation sheet
Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the
community.
6 River Street is a modest example of the Federal style, one of a cluster built along River Street and nearby at l i
Andover Street. Situated on a lot that slopes down sharply at the rear,this south-facing house has no front
setback. It is a two-story house with walk-out basement at the rear. The main rectangular block of the house is
five bays wide by two deep,a Beverly jog extends north from the north west comer of the house. This unusual
detail is also found at 16 and 18 River and at 4 and 11 Andover Streets. The main roof is a low-pitched salt box
clad in asphalt shingles and pierced by a massive central chimney just in front of the ridge on the south slope. At
the west elevation,the sill steps down, suggesting that the house was once one pile deep. The walls are clapboard.
The first story windows have 12/12 sash,the second story have 8/12,all are cased in narrow flat frames. The
center entry is defined by a trabeated surround of plain pilasters supporting an entablature with projecting cornice.
The north slope of the roof was raised in 1890.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE see continuation sheet
Discuss the history of the building. Explain its associations with local(or state)history. Include uses of the
building and the role(s)the owners/occupants played within the community.
Built for William Ferguson,a tailor,6 River Street has been assigned a construction date of 1790 by Historic
Salem, Inc. The date is supported by tax records and the 1790 Federal census,which recorded three households on
River Street:Ferguson,Driver(see Stephen Driver House, 18 River,Form 1626),and Wallis(see 16 River,
Form 1627).The land was part of a large tract that had been owned by the Beckford family for most of the 18th
century. When the Beckfords began to sell the River Street parcels,many buyers purchased two lots,one on the
north and one on the south side of the street. In 1784,John Chandler bought two such parcels from John Beckford,
and in 1789 sold the north parcel,now 6 River Street,to William Ferguson. In 1792,having moved to Pepperell,
MA Ferguson sold the land with a dwelling to Josiah Woodberry,Jr.,a housewright. Three years later,
Woodberry purchased from Benjamin Punchard(see 2 River Street)a 25 foot wide strip of land abutting his parcel
on the east,increasing the width of the 6 River lot to about 75 feet. In 1802,the house was damaged by a fire that
started on the roof and may have engulfed much of the attic story. Woodberry sold the house in 1816 to Tobias
Davis,a mariner,who held it only two years, selling to William Knight,a cordwainer,in 1818. The Knights
owned the house for almost fifty years,dividing it into two lots(6 and 8 River). In 1870 they sold 8 River to James
Moncrief and 6 River to Benjamin Cutts,who immediately shaved off 10-1/2 feet to add to his lot at 4 River,and
sold the rest including the house to Moncrief. The 1870 deed shows a private way running between 6 and 8,but
the 1874 atlas shows two buildings(only 8 is labeled)that appear to be connected at the northwest comer,
approximately where the ell is now. In 1890,Moncrief defaulted on his mortgage and the property was sold to
James Landers,a grocer,who also owned and lived at 10 River. In that same year,a permit was obtained to"raise
the roof'of 6 River Street. On the 1897 atlas,the footprint of 6 remains the same,and it still shares a bit of
common wall with 8. Six, 8 and 10 River remained in the Landers family for about 30 years, and are shown on the
f 1911 atlas as unconnected Beginning in 1921,the property(6,8,&10)changed hands yearly until Albert Demule
purchased it in 1924. At that time there was no ell on 6 River. Demule owned all three properties until 1941,
when they were sold through foreclosure to Phillip Saraceno. The next owner, still of all three,was Carmella P.
Hall(1958)who sold 6 River to Robert C. Bramble,trustee in 1983. Today, 8 River no longer exists,and it
appears that 6 and 10 have expanded into the space it once occupied
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES X _ see continuation sheet
King,Joyce. "4 River Street House Report." Prepared for Historic Salem,Inc. June, 1985.
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Community Property Address
Salem 6-8 River St.
Massachusetts Historical Commission
Massachusetts Archives Building
220 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston,MA 02125
Area(s) Form No.
HU 1631
King, Joyce. "6 River Street House Report." Prepared for Historic Salem,Inc. September, 1983.
Maps
Hopkins, G. M. Atlas of Salem. Philadelphia, 1874.
McIntyre,H. Man of the City of Salem. Philadelphia, 1851.
Phillips, James Duncan. ap of Salem about 1780. Based on Research by Sidney Perley and the accounts of
Colonel Benjamin J.Pickman and Benjamin F.Browne with additional information assembled by Jones Duncan
and Henry-Noyes Otis. Salem: James Duncan Phillips, 1937.
. Part of Salem in 1700. From the research of Sidney Perley. Assembled by William W.K. Freeman.
Salem:James Duncan Phillips, 1933.
Richards,L.F. Atlas of Salem. 1897.
Walker Lithograph and Publishing Company. Atlas of Salem. Boston,MA: 1911.
Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked,you must attach a
completed National Register Criteria Statement form.
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET SALEM 6-8 RIVER ST
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORmsEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 0212$
SAL.HD, SAL.HL, SAL.HU SAL.1631
Supplemental photograph by Patti Kelleher, Salem Department of Planning& Community Development,March 2017
i
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RECEIVED
JUN 20 2017
MASS.HIST.COMM.
Continuation sheet I
rk
2- i 3 (
4 FORM B BUILDING o 6 / In Area no. Form no
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION A_
Boston
_ 1. Town 5om
Address
Present use
Present owner
=- 3. Description:
Date
� Source_
_ ! Style , @- 'C��
ion Architect
and
- - ------ Exterior wall fabric, �m�(�V(+(�
Outbuildings (describe)
Other features_
X x X
xD
XX Altered ✓ Date
CA Moved Date
,4- 5, Lot size:
P- N
P Less than one acre ✓ Over one acre
Approximate frontage 40
Approxinate cl'fstance of building from street
o,
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS SPACE 6. Recorded by-- a _ Q�i�
USGS Quadrant
Organization S,
MHC Photo no.
Date—
(over)
, CT 7 117
S"& HIS
7. Original owner (if known)
Original use
Subsequent uses (if any) and dates
8. Themes (check as many as applicable)
Aboriginal Conservation Recreation
Agricultural Education Religion
Architectural Exploration/ Science/
The Arts settlement invention
Commerce Industry Social/
Communication Military Humanitarian
Community development Political Transportation
9. Historical Significance (include explanation of themes checked above)
Q4Q�\
i
a
as local histories, deeds, assessor's records,
early maps, etc.) Q.
oss+��a�c's teebcds
3/73