57 North Main Street, the Day-Dodge House (1737)

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This house has three entrances. The corner section at North Main and East Street, constructed in 1737, is the earliest and matches the obtuse angle of the intersection. Small beading on the summer beam in this oldest room attests to the early Georgian period. The Day-Dodge House is protected by a preservation agreement with the Ipswich Historical Commission, which presented the 2008 Mary P. Conley Preservation Award to its owners. The interior of the house has well-preserved Georgian and Federal features.

History of the Day-Dodge House

On Dec. 12, 1737, the heirs of Col. Francis Wainwright sold to Nathaniel Day for ÂŁ5 a two-rod lot that Wainwright had purchased in 1696 (75:210), and a second deed of twenty-six rods (about 400 ft.), paying ÂŁ107 (75:211). No buildings were listed in either deed.

Nathaniel Day died Feb. 4, 1739, in his 40th year, leaving a widow, Elizabeth, who was the daughter of John and Lydia Dennis. She never remarried and lived until 1772. Nathaniel and Elizabeth Day share a gravestone at the Old North Burying Ground:

Gravestone of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Day at the Old North Burying Ground in Ipswich.
E-23 “In memory of Mr. Nathaniel Day, who died Feb. 1st, A.D. 1740, in the 40th year of his age. In memory of Mrs. Elizabeth Day, relict of Mr. Nathaniel Day, who died March 28th, A.D. 1772, in the 68th year of her age. “Unactive in the damp and gloomy Grave, beneath this stone, to worms a prey, we sleep,” Unconscious of the world, and all her woes.”

Nathaniel and Elizabeth Day had a daughter, Elizabeth, born in 1729. In 1755, she married Col. Isaac Dodge (1733-1785), who served as a member of the Committee of Correspondence and Safety during the Revolutionary War. (Thomas Franklin Waters wrote that Nathaniel’s widow, Elizabeth, married Col. Isaac Dodge, which is erroneous.)

Elizabeth Dodge inherited the house from her mother, Elizabeth Day. Col. Dodge bought the remainder of the Wainwright land on March 20, 1762, and probably extended the house at that time. He died June 25, 1785, and his widow lived only until September. Mrs. Dodge retained her ownership in the house and bequeathed the northeast end of the dwelling with land to her daughter, Rebecca, the wife of Major Thomas Burnham, and the southwest end to her daughter, Priscilla Dodge, who married Nathaniel Treadwell. The Day-Dodge House had thus become the Dodge-Burnham-Treadwell House, with each family having a separate door.

Gravestone of Isaac Dodge at the Old North Burying Ground. “ERECTED to the MEMORY Of COL. ISSAC DODGE, who was born March 9th, 1733, died June 27th, 1785, and of Mrs. ELISABETH, his Wife, who was born March 10th, 1730 & died Sept 22d, 1785, in the 56th year of her age.” (the daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Dennis Day).

Day-Dodge House, 57 North Main Street Preservation Agreement

Protected elements include:

  • The two facades facing N. Main and East Streets, plus the attached ell.
  • Central frame of the original 6-room dwelling
  • Wooden architectural elements of the front hall facing N. Main St. and the second-story corner room, including molding, stairways, paneling, doors, paneling, and mantelpieces.

SOURCES

Post and beam construction in the ceiling of the oldest section of the Day-Dodge house, facing East St.
Post and beam construction in the ceiling of the oldest section of the Day-Dodge house, facing East Street
A room in the Day-Dodge House on North Main St. in Ipswich
This room in the Day-Dodge House on North Main St. in Ipswich features a Federal-era fireplace.

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