The mansion where a Loyalist judge faced a mob

Samuel Barnard built this place in the late 1720s. He was a merchant who survived an Indian raid in Deerfield. The house was sold by Barnard's nephew to Judge Nathaniel Ropes in 1768.

Ropes graduated from Harvard University in 1745 with a law degree and served on the Governor's Council from 1762 to 1768. Although he was acquainted with patriots such as John Adams, he held Loyalist views. A traditional narrative claims a mob raged outside the house to protest his Loyalist ties in March 1774 while he was dying of smallpox, and that the crowd contributed to his death the following day.

The house has been moved, remodeled, and updated over the centuries. It was shifted back from Essex Street in the 19th century to allow for possible road widening. It received new Ionic columns around 1830 and a large single-story rear wing in 1894. The house was later modernized with electricity and plumbing.

Today, the Peabody Essex Museum operates the residence and gives seasonal self-guided house tours. If you prefer your history with a side of popcorn, you might recognize the building as 'Alison's House' from the movie Hocus Pocus.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons