The Queen Anne Revival Style

The Frank P. Carpenter House, the Charles H. Manning House, and the John H. Andrews House are fine examples of the Victorian-era Queen Anne Revival Style, which had its origins in style sensibilities developed during the reign of Queen Anne of England (1702-1714). This romantic and eccentric style was popular in the United States during the 1880s and 1890s. The houses often have complicated, asymmetrical shapes. The builders used a variety of decorative surface treatments on the outside walls. In the Manning House we see patterned shingles, while on the Carpenter House we see Medieval-style half timbering. The rooflines are complex, multi-gabled and steep. The houses often have prominent turrets and porches (the Andrews House has a beautiful Queen Anne-style porch). The houses often had front-facing gables, and a variety of window styles (sometimes including bay windows). The Queen Anne Revival style took full advantage of the availability of pre-cut architectural trim that was being mass-produced during this industrial age.

The Frank Pierce Carpenter House

1800 Elm Street – Office Building

The Carpenter House was constructed in 1891-1892 for Frank Pierce Carpenter for his personal residence. The building is a two and one-half story structure, designed in the Queen Anne Revival Style. The building rests on a granite foundation, and the first story walls are made of sandstone while the second story is finished with stucco and half-timbering. The house has a prominent three-story turret capped with a copper finial. The turret (tower) and dormers are decorated with elaborate designs in terracotta. The roof is slate with copper ridge capping. Interior woodwork can be found of maple, mahogany, oak and cherry. The ornamentation in the house includes stained glass, “bulls eye” glass, terracotta tile, plaster medallions, and marble.

The property includes a carriage house, which was built at the same time as the main house. This was expanded in around 1910, and a separate garage was built. In 1910 Carpenter bought the house immediately to the north of his and had it torn down in order to provide additional green space (this house would have been between this house and the 1838 Elm Street house). In 1904 the family built a bowling alley on Chandler Street across from the carriage house. The building also housed a private kindergarten that was the first Montessori school in New Hampshire. The Carpenter property extended west beyond the bowling alley and included a large garden. The building that housed the bowling alley became a private home in the 1940s.

Architectural historians have surmised that the architect of the house was likely Edgar Allen Poe Newcomb of Boston, who for a time worked in Portland, Maine. He eventually moved to Hawaii. He was a partner of Edward Tilton who designed the Manchester City Library building, the Manchester Historic Association building, and other buildings in Manchester.

Frank P. Carpenter was a successful businessman and is know today as Manchester’s greatest philanthropist. He was born in Chichester, New Hampshire, graduated from high school in Concord, then moved to Manchester where he spent the rest of his life. He was involved in the grain business, first as an employee at J.S. Kidder and Co., and then as a partner in Carpenter and Drake. In 1885 he purchased the Amoskeag Paper Company, which became his primary business pursuit. Carpenter also was active on the boards of several banks and corporations. He used his

influence and wealth to benefit social, civic and cultural organizations in Manchester, including serving as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Currier Gallery of Art (now the Currier Museum of Art). The most prominent of his philanthropic endeavors is the Elenora Blood Carpenter Building, which houses the Manchester City Library on Pine Street. Carpenter gave the building, which was dedicated in 1914, to the city in honor of his late wife who had died in 1910. Carpenter was also a major benefactor of the Manchester Historic Association, and was the primary donor for the construction of its headquarters at 129 Amherst Street. He also built the Carpenter Hotel as a business venture in 1924. Carpenter always regretted that his early family circumstances did not permit him to attend college. In later life he donated a building to Dartmouth College, Dartmouth Hall, to house its arts programs, and was awarded an honorary degree in recognition of his support. He was also a benefactor of the Masons, donating funds for the building and upkeep of the Manchester Masonic Temple. 

Frank P. Carpenter married Elenora Blood in 1872.  She was the daughter of Aretas and Lavinia (Kendall) Blood. Aretas Blood made his fortune through the Manchester Locomotive Works.  Frank and Elenora had two children, Aretas Blood Carpenter and Mary Elizabeth Carpenter. In 1924 Frank married Elbra (Story) Taggart.  She died in 1928.

Mary Elizabeth Carpenter married the boy next door, Charles Bartlett Manning. They built a home along Ray Brook on Elm Street north of Webster Street. Their home is now the parish house of the Brookside Congregational Church. Mary Manning would follow in her father’s footsteps in being one of the city’s great philanthropists. Her daughter, Priscilla Manning Sullivan inherited the Carpenter House upon her grandfather’s death in late 1938.  She offered it for use by the Red Cross at the start of World War II, and that organization moved into the building in 1941. The transfer of ownership from Priscilla Sullivan to the Red Cross became official in 1993 at which time a Historic Preservation Easement clause was added to the deed which names the Manchester Historic Association as the overseer of any renovations or changes to the structure both on the exterior and the interior, and to certain elements of the landscaping (including the large copper beech tree). The easement also covers the original furniture that remains in the house. It was the first such easement placed on a Manchester property and was done to help preserve the historical nature of the building. The Red Cross expanded the Carriage House in 1994 to provide additional office space.

In 1994 the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. That year the American Red Cross Greater Manchester Chapter was presented with a Historic Preservation Award from the Manchester Historic Association for the creation of the Historic Preservation Easement. This organization was honored with another Historic Preservation Award in 2002 in recognition of their stewardship of the building.

In 2008 The Red Cross sold the property to Carpenter Historic Building, LLC. The house is now being leased as office space, and the American Red Cross Greater Manchester Chapter is leasing the Carriage House. In the past year the new owners have done considerable work on the house, including repairing and repainting the exterior finishes. Missing and broken trim was replaced, and the surfaces repainted. Particular attention was paid to the stucco. Research was done to determine the original color, and this was reproduced as closely as possible. Carpenter Historic Building, LLC is represented today by Jeff Frost, who carried out the repair work and is responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the building.

The Charles H. Manning House 

1838 Elm Street – Office Building

The Manning House was constructed in 1892 at the time when the Carpenter House was being completed. The house was built by Charles H. Manning, a prominent engineer and inventor. This house interprets the Queen Anne Revival style in a much different manner than the Carpenter House. Where the Carpenter House is solid, regal and imposing and speaks of centuries of European history, the Manning house is light and delicate, and evokes a feeling of prosperity and joy of life.

An interesting feature of the Charles H. Manning House is its classical, temple-like porch entryway. This is somewhat out of character with the rest of the house, and reflects an interest in the Colonial Revival architectural style that existed side-by-side with the Queen Anne Revival style during this period.

Charles Henry Manning was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1844, the son of a prosperous iron merchant. He attended high school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and studied civil engineering at Harvard College. He was unable to complete his education due to the start of the Civil War, and returned to Baltimore in 1861 where he began his career as a naval engineer. Early on he proved valuable as a “scientific observer” in various engineering experiments. 

Captain Manning suffered partial hearing loss “in the line of duty,” presumably because he had been exposed to loud engine sounds and explosions. This required him to be on shore duty, so in 1879 he became an instructor at Annapolis, serving in this capacity for five years. He found this to be the most valuable work he ever did, and several of his students went on to distinguished engineering careers. Manning later served as an advisor on the design of new Navy vessels, and was an early supporter of steel ships.

In 1882 he took a leave of absence from the Navy in order to build a boiler house on the west bank of the Merrimack River in Manchester for the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company. He had come here the year before to consult and found the Amoskeag’s steam power operations to be deficient. Manning proceeded to invent a more efficient boiler for the company. The boiler lost so little heat that the workers had to wear coats when standing next to them in cold weather. He became the company’s General Superintendent, and was put in charge of power operations. He supervised the construction of the company’s steam power plant, which included the installation of his new invention, the Manning boiler. The company eventually installed 197 of these in the millyard, and they were also widely used in other mill complexes in New England. Manning was also the architect of the Coolidge Mill on the West Side.

In 1891 a 30-foot in diameter cast iron fly-wheel, weighing 60 tons, and two large steam-powered Corliss engines exploded in the Amoskeag Millyard, killing three employees and injuring several others. The investigation concluded that the explosion was due to defects in the flywheel. The flywheel was replaced by what was probably the largest wooden pulley in the world. It was thirty feet in diameter, nine feet on its face, and twelve feet thick. Twenty thousand feet of lumber was used for constructing the rim. This giant pulley, weighing 104,000 pounds, was designed by Charles H. Manning, and constructed under his supervision.

Manning’s opinion continued to be sought on naval engineering matters, and he published articles in “The Journal for the American Society for Naval Engineers.” As a retired naval officer, Manning was called into service during the Spanish American War (1898) as chief engineer at the Key West, Florida naval station, an important repair station. In 1913 he retired from the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company and opened an office as a consulting engineer.

Charles H. Manning married Fanny Bartlett of Boston in 1871. They had four sons. One died in childhood. The three others went on to graduate from Harvard College. Robert L. Manning became an attorney and was involved in politics, serving in the New Hampshire legislature. Charles B. Manning, who studied at MIT as well as Harvard, became an engineer like his father. They worked together at the Amoskeag before Charles set up his own consulting business. Charles married Mary Elizabeth Carpenter, the girl next door. The youngest brother, Francis B. Manning, was an expert in zoology and was especially interested in reptiles. He became an instructor at Harvard.  

A terrible tragedy occurred on February 12, 1924.  The three Manning brothers, Charles (50), Robert (52), and Francis (34), were on a trip to Lake Tartleton in Grafton, New Hampshire. They were avid outdoor enthusiasts, and had taken this trip many times before. This time they decided to walk to their destination on the railroad tracks, after getting off at the station. Suddenly, an unscheduled train traveling over 40 miles an hour came around the bend and struck them. They were killed instantly. Their companion, Ralph Reed, a Manchester auto dealer, was injured, but survived. The train was pulling Henry Ford’s private railroad cars, which were being transported to Canada. The engineers never saw the men. They decided to stop the train a few miles later, when they spotted a knapsack hanging from the engine. The death of the “Manning boys” was a terrible shock to all who knew them.

Captain Charles H. Manning was very active in the Manchester community, serving on the school board where he was involved with projects to build new school buildings in the city. He had a particular concern for the heating, ventilation and sanitation systems in the buildings. He was the consulting engineer on the construction of the new steel Granite Street Bridge, and served on the water works board. He was also a trustee of the Elliot Hospital. In 1895 he was presented with an honorary degree from Harvard as a member of his original class of 1862. He died in 1919.

The Charles H. Manning House property has been used as an office building for several years. The current owner, 1838 Partners, LLC, bought the property in 2001. It is the headquarters of Eastlantic Advertising Agency, Inc. According to Franne Ciriello, owner of Eastlantic, and a principal of the LLC, she and her husband Burt Widener have done a great deal of work on the building to repair water damage, including replacing rotted wood and shingles. The porch had to be substantially rebuilt. The exterior surfaces, including the distinctive diamond-patterned shingles, have been carefully scraped, and painted the soft green color that has been the hallmark of this building for as long as anyone can remember. The distinctive coat-of-arms style medallion over the front porch entry was repaired and repainted, and gold leaf detailing was added to the tops of the porch columns and elsewhere. Franne Ciriello and her husband Burton Widener were awarded a Historic Preservation Award from the Manchester Historic Association in 2006 in the category of “private development” in recognition of their restoration of the Charles H. Manning House.

The John H. Andrews House

113 Bay Street – Private Residence

This home was built by John H. Andrews, a Manchester lawyer. It was completed in 1893 after two years of construction.

John H. Andrews was born in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, in 1841. He came to Manchester as a young man and after taking up the study of law was admitted to the bar in Amherst in 1864. At that time lawyers were admitted to the bar by an oral examination before the court. Andrews practiced law in Boston for a year, and in Nashua for several years, before returning to Manchester. In addition to practicing law, he also trained aspiring attorneys. He served on the staff of Governor George A. Ramsdell as judge advocate general. Because of this he was often called “General” Andrews. He was president of the Hillsborough County Bar Association for many years. He would always declare that he was not a candidate for that office, but his peers would elect him over his objections. When he died in 1931 he was 90 years old, and the oldest practicing lawyer in New Hampshire. He had been a member of the New Hampshire Bar Association for 67 years. He was also member of all the local Masonic lodges.

Andrews’ wife Sally W. was the daughter of Waterman Smith, the agent for the Manchester Mills. He was a Quaker, and a leader in the local temperance movement. The Smiths had a son, Harry Andrews, who graduated from Dartmouth College and practiced law with his father. Their daughter Florence married T. Gillis Todd of Brookline, Massachusetts. Sally Andrews died in 1924.

The John H. Andrews house was built in the Queen Anne Revival Style, with a suggestion of the Victorian “Stick” style with the decorative timbering over the entrance to the front porch. The house also has a practical New England sensibility in the use of horizontal clapboards for the exterior surfaces. The house had many “modern conveniences” for the 1890s, including both electricity and gas lighting, a full bathroom and a tin tube intercom system and a bell system for summoning servants. It also featured pocket doors in many rooms, wooden paneling throughout, a silver chandelier, and a slate roof.

In January 1895 the house was the scene, according to the local newspaper, of a “largely attended and very brilliant party” put on by Mrs. Andrews and her daughter Florence. Two hundred people attended, among them many of Manchester’s elite, including Mr. & Mrs. Frank P. Carpenter, Mr. & Mrs. Charles H. Manning, and ex-Governor and Mrs. C.P. Cheney. The reception was “a sort of dedication.” The newspaper article goes on: “There are few residences in Manchester arranged with more attractiveness and good taste. The furnishings are in harmony with the architectural scheme, and the palms and chrysanthemums with which the rooms were decorated…put the finishing touches to a charming interior.” Music was provided by Gordon’s orchestra, Dooling of Boston catered and Florence Andrews poured the tea. The newspaper reported the names of all in attendance.

Many of the original features remain in the house, including the pocket doors in the foyer, dining room and library. The original light fixture on the stair landing was made by the Edison Electric Company. The remains of the intercom system, a series of tin tubes in the walls, can be seen in the kitchen. Parts of the bell system also remain. The system worked through call buttons in rooms throughout the house. The call button was pushed to summon a servant. An electric signal rang a bell and dropped a brass plate on the “control panel” in the kitchen to indicate where the servant was needed. The doorbells were connected to the system as well. In fact, the front door bell still is connected to the control panel in the kitchen.

The present owners, Jeffrey Frost and Kathleen Quinn, have been working to preserve and improve the house since they purchased it in 1991. They have maintained the original slate roof, cleaned and refinished the wooden front porch and renovated the kitchen. The house received a Homeowner Award from the Manchester Historic Association’s “Historic Preservation Awards” program in 2000.

The Manchester Masonic Temple

1505 Elm Street – Fraternal organization headquarters

The history of Manchester has been deeply influenced by the presence of fraternal organizations that have played important roles in the city’s social, political, business and community life. The Freemasons have been prominent among these organizations. Throughout its history the membership of the Masonic Lodges in Manchester has included men from all walks of life, including merchants, teachers, clergymen, judges, and politicians. The early member roster of the lodges read like a “who’s who” of the founders of the city of Manchester. In the 19^th century a total of seven Masonic lodges existed in Manchester at one time or another. Two of these remain active today. The Temple is the home of Lafayette Lodge No. 41 and Washington Lodge No. 61.  Today the Temple is also home to five appendant orders: Mt. Horeb Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Adoniram Council, Cryptic Masons; Trinity Commandery, Knights Templar; Ruth Chapter, OES, the women's organization, Order of the Eastern Star; and, most recently, New Hampshire College, Societas Rosicriciana in Civitatibus Foederatis.

Lafayette Lodge No. 41 was founded in 1824 in Piscataquog Village, the settlement on the lower  Piscataquog River that was then part of the town of Bedford. This lodge was named in honor of the Revolutionary War hero, the Marquis de Lafayette, who was touring America that year. Lafayette Lodge moved across the river to downtown Manchester in 1845 and for eleven years met in rooms in the Duncklee’s block, along with other Masonic lodges. In 1856 the Masons moved into the new Masonic Temple in a building at 27 Hanover Street. Washington Lodge No. 61 was founded in 1857 as an offshoot of Lafayette Lodge. The rooms occupied by the Masons were destroyed in the devastating Hanover Street fire of July 1870. The building was quickly rebuilt and the Masonic Temple was reestablished in the same location.

In 1890, with over 570 total members, and needing more space, the lodges began leasing the fifth floor and part of the fourth floor of the Pembroke Building on the corner of Elm and Merrimack Streets. Here they remained until 1927, when the exterior of the Temple at 1505 Elm Street was completed.

The Manchester Masonic Building Association was chartered in 1909 to construct a permanent home for the Freemasons of Manchester. In a booklet that was used to raise funds for the building, it was stated that “The New Temple” would be “Our contribution to the architectural beauty of the ‘Queen City.’” The cornerstone of the Manchester Masonic Temple was laid in 1925, and the building was completed in 1927. In 1929 the Building Association changed its name to the Manchester Masonic Temple Association and to this day the Association remains responsible for the maintenance of the building. Work continued on the interior for several years, and the Manchester Masonic Temple was officially dedicated in 1933. At the dedication, Frank P. Carpenter was made a “Mason at sight,” a rare honor that is bestowed on a non-Mason. Carpenter became a member of the Washington Lodge No. 61 later that year. 

The Temple was designed by Manchester architect C. R. (Chase Roy) Whitcher. He chose a monumental Greek Revival style, making this building one of the most prominent and visible structures in Manchester. A description of the Temple published by the Masons stated:  “In the exterior of the Temple, the architect has endeavored to express the dignity and importance and, in a measure, something of the mystery of Freemasonry, and to produce a structure unmistakably a great and monumental Temple of the Order, ” and “This building as a whole represents an old Grecian Temple, simple in design yet whose architectural strength and beauty symbolizes for all time the dignity and power of Masonry.” The plaza in front of the temple was designed to accommodate outdoor ceremonies. 

The temple includes a main lodge room that is two stories high and “has the effect of an out-door temple” complete with “electrical effects” to represent “the rising and the setting of the sun, the appearance of the stars in heaven at night and all the variations between day and night…” This was completed in 1936, through funds provided by Mrs. Otillie W. Hosser in memory of her late husband, George. This is the largest Masonic meeting room on the east coast. There are also smaller lodge rooms, a ladies parlor, a billiard room, a “lounging room,” card rooms and offices. Original elements in the building include Cyprus and leather chairs, and a cork floor. The Temple also has the oldest hand-operated Otis elevator still operating in the state and contains some of the original furniture bought from Manchester’s C. A. Hoitt furniture store.

C. R. Whitcher grew up in Lisbon, NH and studied architecture at the “Institute of Technology” in Boston (presumably the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – MIT).  In 1907 he moved to Manchester and began his design business here. He has the distinction of being the first person to serve as state architect when the Office of State Architect was created in 1913.  Buildings that he designed in Manchester, in addition to the Masonic Temple, include the Dunlap Building, the Bell Building, the Practical Arts High School, the Merchants Bank, and the Brown, Maynard and Youngsville Schools. Whitcher was active in the Masons and designed several other temples in New Hampshire.

The Campbell-Stark House

585 Belmont – Private Residence

This house was built by John Campbell in 1890. Prior to this time Campbell had lived at the 585 Belmont Street address, presumably in another house belonging to his father. From maps of the era, this appears to have been a large house that had three outbuildings. All that remains of that original property is one of the smaller buildings, that today serves as a garage and barn. John Campbell built a large house meant to accommodate a prosperous family. There is a little bit of a mystery here, however, as it does not appear that he ever lived in the house, and it is unclear who the earliest residents were. We do see from the records that Campbell boarded in various other buildings in the city. He had various occupations, working for a time as a printer for the “Daily Union” newspaper and as a traveling salesman. From 1887 to 1899 he was a manufacturer of 

“hardware specialties” that included “Harness Hanger and Brackets, Exhibition Poles, Pins, Whip Hangers, Horse Scrapers, Stall Hooks, Hitching Posts, Dumb Waiter Wheels and Trucks…”

It appears that Campbell lost ownership of the house in 1894 in a legal dispute: “by virtue of execution of a judgment recovered by Elizabeth G. Starke against John Campbell.” Elizabeth Starke (Stark) was the great granddaughter of General John Stark of Revolutionary War fame. In 1896 Elizabeth transferred ownership to her brother, Augustus H. Starke.  (Only five years prior, Elizabeth and Augustus had given the four acres of land that is now Stark Park to the city of Manchester.)  Neither It is unclear if either Elizabeth nor or Augustus ever lived in the house. Later that year Augustus transferred the property to Charles P. Porter. Charles Porter owned the house until 1922 when Charles A. Allen acquired it. Some time before 1910 the house was turned into a two-family building. The property had a succession of owners before it was purchased by John David and Terry Heinzmann in 1998.

The Campbell-Stark House is an example of the Victorian Colonial Revival style of architecture. This style started to become popular after it first appeared in the 1876 United States Centennial Exposition. During this celebration of the 100 100-years anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the idea of patriotism and a reverence for the past took hold in American society. The Colonial Revival style was meant to reflect this new spirit, and also was inspired by a desire for simplicity as a reaction against the complicated and showy Victorian house styles prevalent during this era. Colonial Revival is inspired by the homes of colonial America, particularly those built in the Georgian Style that were common in New England. Colonial Revival homes are generally symmetrical and rectangular. They have multi-paned, double hung windows. They have a temple-like main entrance, and the entry doors have sidelights (windows). This house has a distinctive roof balustrade (also called a widow’s walk), a decorative element found on some Georgian-style homes. Like other Colonial Revival houses of the 1890s, the Heinzmann’s house shows influences of the Queen Anne Revival style. The simplicity of the front porches reflects the Colonial Revival sensibility, but as Colonial homes did not have porches, their very existence reflects the Queen Anne Revival influence. Also, this influence can be seen in the fact that the porches on the front of the house are on one side (making the front view asymmetrical). The bay windows are another typical Queen Anne Revival feature.

John David and Terry saw great potential in the property, and worked diligently to restore it to its original glory. John David conducted research on the house through deed records, city directories and other sources, so that he and Terry could better understand its history while proceeding on the renovation and restoration. In remodeling restoring the house, the Heinzmanns uncovered fascinating evidence of changes in the house’s configuration over time. It was apparent that the house was built to be a grand residence with servants’ quarters and facilities for entertainment. But with its transfer to Elizabeth Stark to settle a judgment against its original owner, and its conversion to a two family home, it appears that the house was never used the way it was originally intended. 

One of the first things the Heinzmanns did was to make needed repairs to the exterior, including replacing the damaged slates on the roof and repairing and adding the copper work. They opened up a the kitchen back porch that had been closed in, and made painstaking repairs to the front porches, including replacing the railings column bases and the capitals on the columns. Only one of the capitals was in good condition, so it was sent to a craftsman in Texas who replicated it. The replacement capitals, made from a mold of the original, were installed when the porch was repaired. The house’s paint scheme is based on colors uncovered as the newer layers of paint were removed during the repairs.

A major interior project was to return the two-family house back into a one-family home. A wall at the top of the grand staircase and one at the bottom of the servant’s staircase divided the upstairs house into two parts. With these walls removed the original second floor hall reappeared. Details include the pocket doors and the fireplace. Dropped ceilings were removed to reveal the original plaster ceilings, and in one case an old tin ceiling. Friend and neighbor Michael Duffy painstakingly repainted the original plaster walls and ceilings, as well as the entire exterior of the houseme. Even the hardware in the home has been preserved and the Heinzmann’s continue their search to this day for cupboard door and drawer hardware to match the original latches and pulls. These Some doorknobs and faceplates are painted to look like woodplated in a tiger pattern, and the unusual spring hinges remain as well.  Other details include tThe pocket doors in the downstairs living room and music room are still to be restored.

A great deal of the work involved removing vintage 1950s through 1970s décor. The Heinzmanns y returned the first floor bathroom was turnedback into in to a servant’s pantry. Original pantry cabinets cupboards, which had been stored in the basement for close to 50 years, were restored and reinstalled.  These and the cupboards in the butler’s pantry were used as the inspiration for replicating the original additional cabinetry in this and a in a second pantry and the kitchen. The kitchen was extensively remodeled, using materials appropriate to the house’s period, while adding modern amenities. In the upstairs guest bathrooms, theolder replacement sinks, tubs and toilets were discovered sought and found in salvage shops and fit perfectly into the house. The walls in the guest bathroomThe bathroom walls were were painted in the original color, and. the The new tile and cabinet cupboards in both bathrooms match the period as well.

The Heinzmanns were awarded a Historic Preservation Award (the Homeowners Award) in 2007 from the Manchester Historic Association in acknowledgement of the careful, historically- sensitive restoration work they have done on their property.

The Samantha Plantin House

363 Concord Street – Private Residences

This house was built in 1890 by Samantha Plantin. Samantha was one of a small number of  blacks living in Manchester in the 19^th century.  She was born in New Boston, New Hampshire in 1827. By the time she was twenty years old she was living and working in Manchester. She found employment as a washerwoman, working for many prominent families. She was also a dressmaker. In 1880, according to the city directory, she was working at the “Cotton Mill.” It appears that she may have been the only black working in a textile factory in Manchester at that time, or at the least one of a very few.  We do not know which factory she worked in, as the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company operated several cotton mills at this time, and there also were other textile companies operating in the company’s millyard.  

Samantha was a deeply religious woman.  She was a devoted congregant of the Merrimack Street Baptist Church, where she worshipped for over fifty-three years. There, she earned the respect and friendship of many. 

According to a remembrance of her published in the local newspaper, Samantha Plantin “worked early and late and saved her money.” She boarded in various buildings in the city, and from 1885 to 1891 seems to have lived at least part of the time in Goffstown or New Boston, New Hampshire. In 1889 she was able to purchase a parcel of land on Concord Street from Henry F. Pillsbury for $500.  In the following months she had this home built. 

The style of this house can be called “Victorian Cottage.” It has elements of different popular house styles of the period, including the steep gables typical of Gothic Revival and Stick Style homes, the narrow windows with shutters in the front that appear Italianate, and the bay window that is a characteristic of the Queen Anne Revival style. The house is a reminder of the spirit of optimism and prosperity that infused Manchester’s middle class towards the end of the 19^th century. This was the city of opportunity, and Samantha Plantin is a good example of how a person, even with the disadvantages of being a woman and a member of a minority, could prosper and build a fulfilling life.

Samantha would only be able to enjoy her house for around nine years. On May 3, 1899 she died of pneumonia. At 72 she was the oldest member of her church congregation. The funeral was held in her home. The Reverends N. L. Colby and C. W. Burnham officiated. The service was well attended with many floral tributes, including pinks and hyacinths, and music by the Trinity Quartet. The notices of her death and her funeral that appeared in the local newspapers did not mention her race. That seemed to be irrelevant to her many friends. An article in the local newspaper stated:  “Although without relatives, her mother having died some years ago, Miss Plantin during her last illness was surrounded by loyal friends who had learned to admire and respect her for her many acts of kindness and her religious devotion.”

Samantha is buried at the Valley Cemetery along with members of her family, including Dorcas and her husband Peolia Plantin, and Mahala Plantin. The relationships among the Plantins is unknown. The death notice for Samantha states, “Mrs. Plantin was the last surviving member of her family.” Even though the notice calls her “Mrs.” and the City Directory of 1873 lists her as “Mrs.,” we do not know if she was married.  Until relatively recently, it was common practice for a writer to address a woman as “Mrs.” when there was any doubt about her marital status.

Samantha was not an educated person, not in a formal way in any case, but she became very interested in the ideas of Booker T. Washington concerning the value of education to blacks. Booker T. Washington was born a slave. He managed to become educated through hard work and perseverance, and published a groundbreaking autobiography “Up From Slavery.” He became the principal of the famous Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He was considered one of the foremost black leaders of his day, and encouraged people of his race to work towards economic advancement. One of his famous quotes, which likely would have appealed to Samantha was:  “Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.”

Samantha indicated in her will that she desired that her estate be devoted to the education of blacks. For some reason she specified that her money should NOT fund gymnasiums. Most of her estate was distributed to the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, and to the Haines Normal Institute in Augusta, Georgia. The remainder was distributed to local charities in Manchester.

The Samantha Plantin House was purchased by Concord Street Preservation LLC in 2007. Michael Duffy, one of the principals of the LLC, is a local contractor specializing in painting historical houses and other related restoration work. He has substantially rehabilitated this house, and has plans for making additional improvements. 

Copyright 2009 by:

Manchester Historic Association

129 Amherst Street

Manchester NH 03101

(603) 622-7531 – www.manchesterhistoric.org

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