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RESTORING THE PAST ~ PRESERVING THE FUTURE
The Lowell Parks &
Conservation Trust received the Spalding House from the Molly
Varnum Chapter of the Daughter’s of the American Revolution (DAR)
on November 22, 1996. The Trust’s ownership begins the fourth
stage in the evolution of the Spalding House’s use. Davis Inn
- 1760 to 1790 Robert Hildreth built the Spalding House on 10
acres of land that he purchased in 1758 from Joseph Tyler, Sr..
Hildreth constructed a five-bay center entrance house that he
then sold to Reuben Hamblet in 1761. Between 1760 and 1790 ownership
of the house changed eight times. During most of this period,
the house was known as the "Davis Inn", after Moses Davis who
was either owner or proprietor of the house for at least half
of these first 30 years. The Inn provided lodging for barge workers
transporting goods up and down the nearby Merrimack River. The
house was expanded by two bays; a second chimney was added; and
the second floor main hall with a swingdown partitioning wall
was constructed.
To view a brochure of the home's first 30 years (1760-90): Click
Here
To view the Spalding House Tours, step by step guide for volunteers:
Click Here
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Spalding Family Home - 1790 to 1906
Joel Spalding purchased the house on October 6, 1790. Spalding
was a 48-year- old widower and the first of three generations of
the Spalding family to live in the house. Joel had two children
Jonathan, age 15, and Phebe, age 10. His first wife, Phebe Tyler,
had died during childbirth ten years earlier. Six months after moving
into the house, he married Rebecca Cary. Jonathan inherited the
house when his father died in 1823. He then passed it on to his
two children, Joel and Sarah, who were born in the house and lived
in it their entire lives. The Spaldings made some alterations to
the house, including the addition of the Italianate-style hood over
the front door and a small porch on the back of the house. Interior
photos, taken in the early 1900s, show elaborate Victorian wallpapers
and duct work for a central heating system. |
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DAR Chapter House - 1906 to 1996
The DAR purchased the Spalding House from Mrs. Henry Lambert
who purchased it on behalf of the DAR in April 1906 from Miss Sarah
Spalding. The house’s association with three soldiers who had fought
in the Revolutionary War held a special appeal to the DAR who was
looking for a place to display its growing collection of colonial
artifacts. The DAR began an immediate restoration of the house to
expose its colonial features. They uncovered old fireplaces, reopened
old doors, and restored the second floor lecture hall. For 90 years
the DAR held its regular meetings, hosted teas, staged plays, and
distributed scholarships and citizenship awards. When membership
in the Chapter declined in the 1980s, the DAR began looking for
another local organization to assume ownership of the house and
to continue to operate it as a museum. |
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LP&CT - 1996 to the Future
When the DAR first approached the Lowell Parks & Conservation
Trust to discuss its taking ownership of the Spalding House, we
were hesitant. The Spalding House presented a major challenge
to our young organization’s finite resources. Our board of directors
recognized, however, that unless they stepped forward a significant
cultural resource in the city of Lowell and the Merrimack Valley
would be lost. The house’s historic connection with the Merrimack
River and the transformation of the landscape around house, from
a rural colonial settlement of East Chelmsford to urban-industrial
Lowell, fit with the Trust’s mission to educate people about change
in the urban environment. The Trust will use some of the 900+
artifacts given to us with the house for exhibits about the house’s
history and the history of environmental change in the city of
Lowell. Exterior restoration is the first of four phases. Work
remains to be completed on the surrounding landscape, interior
rooms, and use of the house’s artifacts to interpret the house's
history.
Many thanks to our supporters & funders 
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