John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites: Difference between revisions

	John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	U.S. National Historic Landmark
	John Alden House, 2009
Location	105 Alden St., Duxbury, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°2′42″N 70°41′9″W / 42.04500°N 70.68583°W
Area	2.4 acres (0.97 ha)
Built	c. 1630 (Original) ; c. 1700 (Current)
NRHP reference No.	78000476
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	December 14, 1978
Designated NHL	October 6, 2008

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The John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites is a National Historic Landmark consisting of two separate properties in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Both properties are significant for their association with John Alden, one of the settlers of the Plymouth Colony who came to America on board the Mayflower and held numerous posts of importance in the colony. Alden and his relationship with Priscilla Mullins were memorialized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in The Courtship of Miles Standish, a fictionalized narrative poem that made the story a piece of American folklore.

One of the two properties contains the archaeological remains of the house that Alden built c. 1630, and is also significant in the field of historical archaeology as the mature field work of Roland W. Robbins (1908–1987), an early historical archaeologist. It is on land owned by the Town of Duxbury. On the second property stands a house which was traditionally dated to c. 1653 as a work by Alden, but it has been judged by forensic analysis to have been built around 1700, probably by Alden's grandson. This property has been under the continuous ownership of the Alden family; it is now managed by a family foundation as a historic house museum.^[3]

Alden Homestead Site[edit]

The Alden Homestead Site is located on a knoll overlooking the Bluefish River on a parcel of land that is now owned by the Town of Duxbury, and is principally occupied by the Duxbury Junior High School. Wooden posts outline the site of the foundation excavated by Roland Wells Robbins in 1960. A bronze marker is mounted on a granite stone 75 feet (23 m) from the site with the inscription "Site of the John Alden House built 1627". The property is part of a 100-acre (40 ha) parcel granted to John Alden in 1628, and is about 750 feet (230 m) from the Alden House, which abuts the town property.^[3]

The site has been of archaeological interest since the 19th century, when historical artifacts were found in the area. The first formal archaeological survey of the area was conducted in the 1950s, but archeologists did not locate the homestead foundation. The Alden Kindred Foundation, owners of the Alden House Historic Site, hired Robbins in 1960 to investigate the area. He located and excavated a granite foundation, 38 by 10.5 feet (11.6 m × 3.2 m) in size, with evidence of a deep cellar hole underneath the western end. He excavated the area within the foundation, including the cellar, and recovered more than 7,000 historical artifacts and 2,000 prehistoric American Indian artifacts. Most of these were nails and other construction materials. A significant number of cultural artifacts provide evidence that the site was last occupied in the 1650s. In consultation with other archaeologists who analyzed the finds, and based on documentary evidence, Robbins assigned the house a construction date of 1632.^[3]

New fieldwork and a reinterpretation of Robbins' work by Craig Chartier suggest that the foundation might be an addition to an older 20 by 20 feet (6.1 m × 6.1 m) structure which was earthfast (built on wooden posts set in the ground), a building method known from other Plymouth Colony sites. Chartier concludes that this site was Alden's home for most of his time in Plymouth.^[3]

Alden House Historic Site[edit]

The Alden House Historic Site is a house museum that was home to John and Priscilla Alden, located at 105 Alden Street in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Family tradition held that the house was built in 1653 as the second home of John and Priscilla Alden, although the original building may have been as early as 1630. In 2003, dendrochronological and architectural analysis of the current structure suggests that it was built around 1700, after John and Priscilla were deceased.^[3]

Alden was ship's cooper on the Mayflower who arrived in Plymouth Colony in 1620 and later moved to Duxbury. He was not a Pilgrim himself, but he was an important figure throughout the period of the Plymouth Colony. This house may have used materials from Alden's earlier house which was nearby.

Recognition[edit]

The sites were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978,^[1] and were declared a National Historic Landmark on October 6, 2008.^[2]

Gallery[edit]

Priscilla and John Alden
John Alden House historic marker
1930s postcard depicting the dining room
1930s postcard depicting a bedroom

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
^ ^a ^b "NHL summary description of John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites". National Park Service. Archived from the original on September 1, 2010. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Tom McCarthy; Erika K Martin Seibert; Patty Henry; Edward L. Bell; Betsy Friedberg; Phil Bergen (March 2007). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites / Alden House (DUX.38) and Original Alden Homestead Site (aka Alden I Site, DUX-HA-3)" (PDF). National Park Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 8, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

External links[edit]

Media related to John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites at Wikimedia Commons

Alden House and Kindred Website

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.

[nhlsum-2] "NHL summary description of John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites". National Park Service. Archived from the original on September 1, 2010. Retrieved November 20, 2014.

[nhlnom-3] Tom McCarthy; Erika K Martin Seibert; Patty Henry; Edward L. Bell; Betsy Friedberg; Phil Bergen (March 2007). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites / Alden House (DUX.38) and Original Alden Homestead Site (aka Alden I Site, DUX-HA-3)" (PDF). National Park Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 8, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

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[2]

[3]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{short description|Historic house in Massachusetts, United States}}
-{{Infobox nrhp
+{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
-  | name = John and Priscilla Alden Family&nbsp;Sites
-  | nrhp_type = nhl
+{{Infobox NRHP
-  | image = John Alden House in Duxbury, Massachusetts.jpg
+| name                 = John and Priscilla Alden Family&nbsp;Sites
-  | caption = John Alden House, 2009
+| nrhp_type            = nhl
-  | location= 105 Alden St., [[Duxbury, Massachusetts]]
+| image                = John Alden House in Duxbury, Massachusetts.jpg
-  | lat_degrees = 42
+| caption              = John Alden House, 2009
-  | lat_minutes = 2
+| location             = 105 Alden St., [[Duxbury, Massachusetts]]
-  | lat_seconds = 42
+| coordinates          = {{coord|42|2|42|N|70|41|9|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
-  | lat_direction = N
+| locmapin             = Massachusetts#USA
-  | long_degrees = 70
+| built                = c. 1630 (Original) <br> c. 1700 (Current)
-  | long_minutes = 41
+| architecture         =
-  | long_seconds = 9
+| added                = December 14, 1978
-  | long_direction = W
+| designated_nrhp_type = October 6, 2008<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=-981005341&ResourceType=Site |title=NHL summary description of John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites |publisher=National Park Service |accessdate=2014-11-20 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100901180225/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=-981005341&ResourceType=Site |archivedate=2010-09-01}}</ref>
-  | coord_display = inline,title
+| area                 = {{convert|2.4|acre}}
-  | coord_parameters = region:US_type:landmark
+| refnum               = 78000476<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref>
-  | locmapin = Massachusetts
-  | built = c. 1630
-  | architecture =
-  | added = December 14, 1978
-  | designated_nrhp_type = October 6, 2008<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=-981005341&ResourceType=Site|title=NHL summary description of John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites|publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=2014-11-20}}</ref>
-  | area = {{convert|2.4|acre}}
-  | governing_body = Private
-  | refnum = 78000476
-<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref>
 }}
-The '''John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites''' is a [[National Historic Landmark]] consisting of two separate properties in [[Duxbury, Massachusetts|Duxbury]], [[Massachusetts]], [[United States]].  Both properties are significant for their association with [[John Alden]], one of the settlers of the [[Plymouth Colony]] who came to North America on board the ''[[Mayflower]]'', and held numerous posts of importance in the colony.  Alden and his relationship with [[Priscilla Mullins]] were memorialized by [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]] in ''[[The Courtship of Miles Standish]]'', a [[narrative poem]] that made the story a piece of American folklore.
+The '''John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites''' is a National Historic Landmark consisting of two separate properties in [[Duxbury, Massachusetts]]. Both properties are significant for their association with [[John Alden]], one of the settlers of the [[Plymouth Colony]] who came to America on board the ''[[Mayflower]]'' and held numerous posts of importance in the colony. Alden and his relationship with [[Priscilla Mullins]] were memorialized by [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]] in ''[[The Courtship of Miles Standish]]'', a fictionalized narrative poem that made the story a piece of American folklore.
-One of the two properties contains the archaeological remains of the house John Alden built c. 1630, and is also significant in the field of historical archaeology as the mature field work of Roland Wells Robbins (1908-1987), an early historical archaeologist.  It is on land owned by the Town of Duxbury.  On the second property stands a house which was traditionally dated to c. 1657 as a work by Alden, but is, by forensic analysis, judged to have been built around 1700, probably by John Alden's grandson.  This property has been under the continuous ownership of the Alden family; it is now managed by a family foundation as a [[historic house museum]].<ref name="nhlnom">{{Cite document|title={{PDFlink|[http://www.nps.gov/nhl/find/statelists/ma/JohnandPriscillaAldenFamilySites.pdf National Historic Landmark Nomination: John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites / Alden House (DUX.38) and Original Alden Homestead Site (aka Alden I Site, DUX-HA-3)]|32&nbsp;KB}}|date=March 2007 |author=Tom McCarthy, Erika K Martin Seibert, Patty Henry, Edward L. Bell, Betsy Friedberg, and Phil Bergen |publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=2014-11-20}}</ref>
+One of the two properties contains the archaeological remains of the house that Alden built c. 1630, and is also significant in the field of historical archaeology as the mature field work of [[Roland W. Robbins]] (1908–1987), an early historical archaeologist. It is on land owned by the Town of Duxbury. On the second property stands a house which was traditionally dated to c. 1653 as a work by Alden, but it has been judged by forensic analysis to have been built around 1700, probably by Alden's grandson. This property has been under the continuous ownership of the Alden family; it is now managed by a family foundation as a historic house museum.<ref name="nhlnom">{{cite journal|title=National Historic Landmark Nomination: John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites / Alden House (DUX.38) and Original Alden Homestead Site (aka Alden I Site, DUX-HA-3)|url=http://www.nps.gov/nhl/find/statelists/ma/JohnandPriscillaAldenFamilySites.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208104829/http://www.nps.gov/nhl/find/statelists/ma/JohnandPriscillaAldenFamilySites.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 8, 2014 |date=March 2007 |author1=Tom McCarthy |author2=Erika K Martin Seibert |author3=Patty Henry |author4=Edward L. Bell |author5=Betsy Friedberg |author6=Phil Bergen |publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=2014-11-20}}</ref>
 ==Alden Homestead Site==
-The Alden Homestead Site is located on a knoll overlooking the [[Bluefish River]], on a parcel of land that is now owned by the Town of Duxbury, and is principally occupied by the Duxbury Junior High School.  The site is marked by wooden posts which outline the site of the foundation excavated by Roland Wells Robbins in 1960.  A bronze marker is mounted on a granite stone above {{convert|75|ft|m}} from the site, bearing the inscription "Site of the John Alden House built 1627".  The property is part of a {{convert|100|acre|ha|adj=on}} parcel granted to John Alden in 1621, and is about {{convert|750|ft|m}} from the John Alden House, which abuts the town property.<ref name=NHL/>
+The Alden Homestead Site is located on a knoll overlooking the [[Bluefish River (Massachusetts)|Bluefish River]] on a parcel of land that is now owned by the Town of Duxbury, and is principally occupied by the Duxbury Junior High School. Wooden posts outline the site of the foundation excavated by Roland Wells Robbins in 1960. A bronze marker is mounted on a granite stone {{convert|75|ft|m}} from the site with the inscription "Site of the John Alden House built 1627". The property is part of a {{convert|100|acre|ha|adj=on}} parcel granted to John Alden in 1628, and is about {{convert|750|ft|m}} from the Alden House, which abuts the town property.<ref name="nhlnom" />
-The site has been of archaeological interest since the 19th century, when historical artifacts were found in the area.  The first formal archaeological survey of the area was conducted in the 1950s, but did not locate the homestead foundation.  The Alden Kindred Foundation, owners of the John Alden House, hired Robbins in 1960 to investigate the area.  He located and excavated a granite foundation, {{convert|38|x|10.5|ft|m}} in size, with evidence of a deep cellar hole underneath the western end.  He excavated the area within the foundation, including the cellar, and recovered more than 7,000 historical artifacts and 2,000 prehistoric Native American artifacts.  Most of these were nails and other construction materials.  A significant number of cultural artifacts provide evidence that the site was last occupied in the 1650s.  In consultation with other archaeologists who analyzed the finds, and based on documentary evidence, Robbins assigned the house a construction date of 1632.<ref name=NHL/>
+The site has been of archaeological interest since the 19th century, when historical artifacts were found in the area. The first formal archaeological survey of the area was conducted in the 1950s, but archeologists did not locate the homestead foundation. The Alden Kindred Foundation, owners of the Alden House Historic Site, hired Robbins in 1960 to investigate the area. He located and excavated a granite foundation, {{convert|38|x|10.5|ft|m}} in size, with evidence of a deep cellar hole underneath the western end. He excavated the area within the foundation, including the cellar, and recovered more than 7,000 historical artifacts and 2,000 prehistoric American Indian artifacts. Most of these were nails and other construction materials. A significant number of cultural artifacts provide evidence that the site was last occupied in the 1650s. In consultation with other archaeologists who analyzed the finds, and based on documentary evidence, Robbins assigned the house a construction date of 1632.<ref name="nhlnom" />
-Later research, including new fieldwork and reinterpretation of Robbins' work by Craig Chartier, suggests that the foundation might be an addition to an older {{convert|20|x|20|ft|m}} structure which was [[earthfast]] (i.e. built on wooden posts set in the ground), a building method known from other Plymouth Colony sites.  Chartier concludes that this site was Alden's home for most of his time in Plymouth.<ref name=NHL/>
+New fieldwork and a reinterpretation of Robbins' work by Craig Chartier suggest that the foundation might be an addition to an older {{convert|20|x|20|ft|m}} structure which was [[earthfast]] (built on wooden posts set in the ground), a building method known from other Plymouth Colony sites. Chartier concludes that this site was Alden's home for most of his time in Plymouth.<ref name="nhlnom" />
-==John Alden House==
+==Alden House Historic Site==
-[[File:John Alden House.jpg|thumb|left|John Alden House in 1904]]
+[[File:John Alden House.jpg|thumb|left|Alden House in 1904]]
-The John Alden House is a historic [[house museum]] that was purportedly home to John and Priscilla Alden. It is located at 105 Alden Street in [[Duxbury, Massachusetts]].  Scholarship variously dates it as built in 1653 according to family tradition, or c. 1700 according to more recent [[dendrochronology]] testing of the beams.<ref name="nhlnom"/>
+The Alden House Historic Site is a house museum that was home to John and Priscilla Alden, located at 105 Alden Street in [[Duxbury, Massachusetts]]. Family tradition held that the house was built in 1653 as the second home of John and Priscilla Alden, although the original building may have been as early as 1630. In 2003, [[dendrochronology|dendrochronological]] and architectural analysis of the current structure suggests that it was built around 1700, after John and Priscilla were deceased.<ref name="nhlnom" />
-Alden was ship's [[Cooper (profession)|cooper]] on the [[Mayflower]] who arrived in [[Plymouth, Massachusetts|Plymouth]] in 1620 and later moved to Duxbury. Although not a [[Pilgrim (Plymouth Colony)|Pilgrim]] himself, he was an important figure throughout the period of the [[Plymouth Colony]]. This house may have used materials from Alden's earlier house which was nearby.
+Alden was ship's [[Cooper (profession)|cooper]] on the ''[[Mayflower]]'' who arrived in [[Plymouth Colony]] in 1620 and later moved to Duxbury. He was not a [[Pilgrim (Plymouth Colony)|Pilgrim]] himself, but he was an important figure throughout the period of the Plymouth Colony. This house may have used materials from Alden's earlier house which was nearby.
 ==Recognition==
-The sites were listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1978,<ref name="nris"/>  and were declared a [[National Historic Landmark]] on October 6, 2008.<ref name="nhlsum"/>
+The sites were listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1978,<ref name="nris" /> and were declared a [[National Historic Landmark]] on October 6, 2008.<ref name="nhlsum" />
 ==See also==
-*[[List of the oldest buildings in Massachusetts]]
+* [[List of the oldest buildings in Massachusetts]]
-*[[List of National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts]]
+* [[List of National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts]]
-*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Plymouth County, Massachusetts]]
+* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Plymouth County, Massachusetts]]
+==Gallery==
+<gallery>
+File:Priscilla and John Alden (70453).jpg|Priscilla and John Alden
+File:John Alden House historic marker.jpg|John Alden House historic marker
+File:Dining room, John Alden House, built 1653, Duxbury, Mass (61530).jpg|1930s postcard depicting the dining room
+File:Bedroom, John Alden House, built 1653, Duxbury, Mass (71566).jpg|1930s postcard depicting a bedroom
+</gallery>
 ==References==
@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 ==Further reading==
-*Levine, Sassaman, and Nassaney, eds. ''The Archaeological Northeast'' (Chapter: "An Interdisciplinary Study of the John Alden Houses, 1627 and 1653, Duxbury, Massachusetts: Archaeology and Architecture" by Mitchell T. Mulholland). Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey (1999).
+* Levine, Sassaman, and Nassaney, eds. ''The Archaeological Northeast'' (Chapter: "An Interdisciplinary Study of the John Alden Houses, 1627 and 1653, Duxbury, Massachusetts: Archaeology and Architecture" by Mitchell T. Mulholland). Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey (1999).
 ==External links==
+{{commons category-inline}}
-*[http://www.alden.org/ Alden House and Kindred Website]
+* [http://www.alden.org/ Alden House and Kindred Website]
 {{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts}}
@@ Line 63: / Line 64: @@
 {{DEFAULTSORT:John And Priscilla Alden Family Sites}}
 [[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts]]
-[[Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts]]
 [[Category:Houses in Duxbury, Massachusetts]]
 [[Category:Historic house museums in Massachusetts]]
 [[Category:Museums in Plymouth County, Massachusetts]]
 [[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Plymouth County, Massachusetts]]
+[[Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Plymouth County, Massachusetts]]