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 26 Pleasant Street. The Greek Revival residence at 26 Pleasant Street was owned by L. Berry in 1855 and, in 1879, by H.P. Babcock. In the late 19th century, this house was purchased by Ichabod N. Blankinship. Ichabod, born in 1817, grew up at 273 Converse Road, which was owned by his father, John Blankinship. Ichabod was a parishioner of the Universalist Church, a sympathizer of the anti-alcohol Temperance Movement and an ardent Democrat who voted for the Republican Abraham Lincoln in 1864. By 1903, J.B. Blankinship, an ice deliveryman, owned this home. Ichabod N. Blankinship died in 1909 at age 92.
