In 1998, the Sippican Historical Society commissioned an architectural survey of Marion’s historic homes and buildings. The survey was funded half by the Sippican Historical Society and half by the Massachusetts Historical Commission. Due to the limits of funding, not all of the historic buildings were surveyed, but over 100 were catalogued and photographed. The results of the survey are in digital form on the Massachusetts Historical Commission’s website and in four binders in the Sippican Historical Society’s office (and at the Marion Town Clerk’s office).
Marion (Old Rochester) is one of the oldest towns in the United States, and the Sippican Historical Society maintains an extensive collection of documentation on its historic buildings. The Sippican Historical Society will preview one building a week so that the residents of Marion can understand more about its unique historical architecture.
This installment features 84 Front Street. Of all the town center’s streets, Front Street possesses the most varied collection of buildings. The home at 84 Front Street was originally located on the southwest corner of Holmes and Water Streets and was moved to its current location in the early 1960s to serve as Tabor Academy housing. One portion of this house was built for Ebenezer Holmes c. 1783 and enlarged in the mid-19th century. By 1903, this house was owned by Mrs. M.A. Knowlton. In 1961, Mrs. Otto Braitmayer, the last owner of the house at its Water Street location, gave the house to Tabor Academy.
