Captain Robert Bennet Forbes House
Encyclopedia
The Captain Robert Bennet Forbes House, also known as the R. B. Forbes House, is a house museum located at 215 Adams Street, Milton, Massachusetts
. It is now a National Historic Landmark
, and is open several afternoons per week. An admission fee is charged.
The house was built in 1833 for their mother by Captain Robert Bennet Forbes
, John Murray Forbes
, and their sisters. It was designed in an unusual Greek Revival style
by Boston architect Isaiah Rogers
and is now one of two surviving examples of Rogers' early domestic work, with an interior that retains many original features including an elliptical staircase rising through three stories and much original woodwork. Interior additions (1872) include tiled fireplace surrounds in the High Victorian Gothic style.
_-_parlor.jpg)
The house was used by the Forbes family until 1962, and opened as a museum in 1965. Today it is furnished with the family's furniture, art, and American, European, and Old China Trade
heirlooms. The museum also contains a large collection of Abraham Lincoln
memorabilia collected by Captain Forbes's granddaughter, Mary Bowditch Forbes, together with a replica of Lincoln's birthplace cabin on the grounds.
_-_front_facade.jpg)
Milton, Massachusetts
Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 27,003 at the 2010 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and architect Buckminster Fuller. Milton also has the highest percentage of...
. It is now a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
, and is open several afternoons per week. An admission fee is charged.
The house was built in 1833 for their mother by Captain Robert Bennet Forbes
Robert Bennet Forbes
Captain Robert Bennet Forbes , was a sea captain, China merchant, ship owner, and writer. He was active in ship construction, maritime safety, the opium trade, and charitable activities.-Captain, opium trader and humanitarian:...
, John Murray Forbes
John Murray Forbes
John Murray Forbes was an American railroad magnate, merchant, philanthropist and abolitionist. He was president of both the Michigan Central railroad and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in the 1850s....
, and their sisters. It was designed in an unusual Greek Revival style
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
by Boston architect Isaiah Rogers
Isaiah Rogers
Isaiah Rogers was a US architect who practiced in Mobile, Alabama, Boston, Massachusetts, New York City, and Cincinnati, Ohio.-Background:...
and is now one of two surviving examples of Rogers' early domestic work, with an interior that retains many original features including an elliptical staircase rising through three stories and much original woodwork. Interior additions (1872) include tiled fireplace surrounds in the High Victorian Gothic style.
Old China Trade
The Old China Trade was the name given to the early commerce between the Qing Empire and the United States under the Canton System, spanning from shortly after the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 to the Treaty of Wanghsia in 1844...
heirlooms. The museum also contains a large collection of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
memorabilia collected by Captain Forbes's granddaughter, Mary Bowditch Forbes, together with a replica of Lincoln's birthplace cabin on the grounds.
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