Sippican Historical Society

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. Because of 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 One Water Street

The shingle-style home at One Water Street was built in the early 1890s as a summer residence for George P. Hamlin. Together with his brother, Edward Hamlin, who built a summer residence at 23 Water Street, they owned the Metropolitan Coal Company in Boston. They were cousins of Abraham Lincoln’s vice president, Hannibal Hamlin of Bangor, Maine. This waterfront home was designed by the Boston architect, William Gibbons Preston. Preston also designed the Museum of Natural History on Berkeley Street in Boston, the first Massachusetts Institute of Technology building (later demolished), and the Hotel Vendome in Boston. He also designed the home at 75 Water Street, along with commissions for Tabor Academy, the Music Hall and the Congregational Church.

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