Superior Courthouse and Bartlett Mall | |
Location | Newburyport, Massachusetts |
---|---|
Coordinates | 42°48′7″N70°52′30″W / 42.80194°N 70.87500°W |
Built | 1800 |
Architect | Charles Bulfinch |
Part of | Newburyport Historic District (ID84002411) |
NRHP reference No. | 76000280 [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | April 30, 1976 |
Designated CP | August 2, 1984 |
The Superior Courthouse and Bartlett Mall are, respectively, one of the oldest active courthouses in the nation, and one of the oldest public grounds in the city of Newburyport, Massachusetts. The mall and courthouse were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, [1] and included in the Newburyport Historic District in 1984. [2]
The courthouse, designed by architect Charles Bulfinch [3] who also designed the Massachusetts State House in Boston, was built in 1805. Architecturally, the building has two stories and was designed and built in the Federal style. Originally, the courthouse had brick pillars and arches that supported the second floor, and also displayed a statue of "a female figure, representing Justice, holding a pair of scales in her right hand." [4]
The Courthouse has undergone various renovations since 1805, first in 1853, when the front side of the courthouse was remodeled, the statue of Justice was removed, and the roof replaced with Italianate; and then again in 1973. [5] Author/Historian Euphemia Vale, in her 1854 history of Newburyport, wrote that "The [1853] alterations cost $12,400, and the new furnishing of the rooms brought the total expense of the improvements up to more than $13,000." [6]
According to the paperwork on file with the government of Newburyport, [5] after construction of the Superior Courthouse was completed as a joint undertaking by the town and county, annual town meetings were held therein until 1834. The space was also used during that time as a location for a summer school for girls. On April 18, 1834, a town committee was appointed to sell off the town's financial interest in the building. Their goal was achieved by June 3 of that same year and the property officially came under the ownership of Essex County.
Many historically relevant figures argued cases within the Superior Courthouse, including Daniel Webster, John Quincy Adams, [7] and Caleb Cushing. [8]
Bartlett Mall, which runs in front of the courthouses along High Street near its intersection with Green Street, predates the 1764 separation of Newburyport from Newbury.
Even prior to the building of the courthouse, it is noted that Bartlett Mall "has always been a focal point of the community." [5]
Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 35 miles (56 km) northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mooring, winter storage, and maintenance of recreational boats, motor and sail, still contribute a large part of the city's income. A Coast Guard station oversees boating activity, especially in the sometimes dangerous tidal currents of the Merrimack River.
Amesbury is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the left bank of the Merrimack River near its mouth, upstream from Salisbury and across the river from Newburyport and West Newbury. The population was 17,366 at the 2020 United States Census. A former farming and mill town, Amesbury is today largely residential. It is one of the two northernmost towns in Massachusetts.
Charles Bulfinch was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first American-born professional architect to practice.
Caleb Cushing was an American Democratic politician and diplomat who served as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts and the 23rd United States Attorney General under President Franklin Pierce. From 1874 until 1877, he was the United States Minister to Spain.
Charles H. Durkee was an American pioneer, Congressman, and United States Senator from Wisconsin. He was one of the founders of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and was a Governor of the Utah Territory in the last five years of his life.
The Cushing House Museum and Garden, also known as the Caleb Cushing House, is a Federal style mansion with a fine garden located at 98 High Street, Newburyport, Massachusetts, United States. It was a home of diplomat Caleb Cushing and is a National Historic Landmark.
The old Roane County Courthouse building in Kingston, Tennessee, the county seat of Roane County. Built in the 1850s, it is one of six remaining antebellum county courthouses in the state of Tennessee.
The Norfolk County Courthouse, also known as the William D. Delahunt Courthouse, is a National Historic Landmark at 650 High Street in Dedham, Massachusetts. It currently houses the Norfolk County Superior Court. It is significant as a well-preserved Greek Revival courthouse of the 1820s, and as the site a century later of the famous Sacco-Vanzetti trial. The building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1972, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It replaced an earlier courthouse, built in 1795.
The Glebe House, built in 1854–1857, is a historic house with an octagon-shaped wing in Arlington County, Virginia. The Northern Virginia Conservation Trust holds a conservation easement to help protect and preserve it. The name of the house comes from the property's history as a glebe, an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. In this case, the glebe was established by the Church of England before the American Revolutionary War.
The First Religious Society Church and Parish Hall is a historic church building at 26 Pleasant Street in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Originally a Reformed congregation, the congregation is currently affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist denomination. The current Minister is Reverend Rebecca M. Bryan. The church's steeple is currently the tallest point in downtown Newburyport, Massachusetts.
The Newbury Historic District encompasses the historic town center of Newbury, Massachusetts. Centered on the town's upper green, the area has a history of more than 350 years, and includes buildings dating to the 17th century. It extends from the green northward on High Street to the town line with Newburyport. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
The Newburyport Historic District encompasses most of the historic downtown area of Newburyport, Massachusetts. It is roughly bounded by the Merrimack River, Marlboro Street, Ashland Street and High Streets. Covering some 750 acres (300 ha) of land and more than 2,500 contributing buildings, it includes the most populous part of the city, and a panoply of architectural styles, dating from the 17th century to the early 20th century. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Newell Farm is a historic farmhouse at 243 Main Street in West Newbury, Massachusetts.
The former United States Customhouse is a historic building at 25 Water Street in Newburyport, Massachusetts.
Gorham Academy was a preparatory school for boys and girls in Gorham, Maine.
Thomas Bayley Lawson was an American artist and well-known portrait painter. Lawson was also the founder and first president of the Lowell Art Association and Whistler House Museum of Art.
George Washington Jackman Jr. was an American shipbuilder and politician from Newburyport, Massachusetts.
Euphemia Vale Blake was a British-born American author and critic. She wrote extensively for the North American Review, the Christian Examiner, the Boston Evening Transcript, and other well-known publications. From 1857, she lived in Brooklyn, engaged in journalism. She was the author of Arctic Experiences; Teeth, Ether and Chloroform; History of Newburyport; A History of Tammany Hall, and Ocean Wonders.
Rufus Sargent (1812-1886) was an American architect practicing in Newburyport, Massachusetts during the nineteenth century.