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. In 1998, the Sippican Historical Society commissioned an architectural survey of Marion’s historic homes and buildings. Over 100 were cataloged and photographed. SHS will feature one building a week so that the residents of Marion can understand more about its unique historical architecture.
The original house at 319 Wareham Street was a one-story saltbox built in 1775. A second story was added in the mid-1800s. Nathaniel Briggs of Rochester deeded the property to Joshua Dean of Wareham in the mid-1800s, who then gave the property to his daughter, Betsey, wife of Peleg Washburn. Their son, Horatio, was the next owner, followed by his son, Charles. The home next passed to Charles’s son, Ralph, and then to his son, Warren, and his wife, Ann. Warren and Ann’s son, Warren Washburn Jr., is the current owner and the sixth generation of Washburns to own this home.
