In 1998, the Sippican Historical Society commissioned an architectural survey of Marion’s historic homes and buildings. The survey was funded one-half by the Sippican Historical Society and one-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 368 Front Street. The home at 368 Front Street may represent the only surviving building from the 18th- and early 19th-century cluster of residences called “Parlowtown.” Parlowtown Road was originally a Native American trail that ran northwest to Rochester. It fell into disuse in the mid-19th century, when the rugged, swampy nature of the terrain made its maintenance difficult. This Federal-style cottage was built c. 1800 by the Parlow family.
