Spalding House
Built 1761

Building History

The Georgian style Spalding House is the third oldest surviving house in Lowell and one of the few surviving colonial homes in the community.  Constructed in 1761 in what was then East Chelmsford, the house served as an inn for barge workers transporting goods up and down the Merrimack River prior to the digging of the Pawtucket Canal.  The house was home to the Spalding family from 1790 to 1906.  From 1906 until 1996, it was the Chapter House for the Molly Varnum Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Preservation and Reuse

Owned by the Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust since 1996, the house has recently undergone extensive exterior restoration that returned the structure to its 1906 appearance.  Work included the removal of aluminum siding and the repair/replacement of wood clapboards; the replication of historic shutters; reconstruction of a missing rear porch; masonry work including chimney repointing and reconstruction; the addition of an accessibility ramp; and the painting of the structure in its 1906 color scheme after paint samples and laboratory analysis was undertaken.  These efforts earned the organization and the Spalding House a Preservation Award from the Massachusetts Historical Commission in 2000.

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