The Nathan Bowen house was built by William Waters in 1695 and is one of fifteen homes in Marblehead built before 1700. The house located on 1 Mugford Street has also been tied to H.P. Lovecraft and is believed to be the home mentioned in his short story ‘The Festival’.
I had noted that the house featured a beautiful flowering tree but had never managed to capture it in full bloom. On the morning of May 6 (and during the last of my three attempts to capture the scene of Abbot Hall and a flowering tree on Washington Street), I found myself in front of this beautiful scene.
I decided on a slightly wider vantage point to include the neighboring house reflecting the morning light.
I found this reference to Marblehead by H.P. Lovecraft in researching the Bowen House and found it incredibly accurate even so many years after it was written:
‘Marblehead is a garland of unending delights – one could live there rapturously for ever, discovering new wonders each day…’
Eyal, I was in this home many times since it was owned by a dear friend of my mother’s. I have photos taken inside with some of her family “relics” from Marblehead’s fire departments and a musket (huge) from the Revolutionary War . There is a small birthing room in the center of the first floor between the fireplaces in two of the rooms. It could be closed off on either side and must have been unbearably hot during the warm months since the fireplaces would have been kept burning for cooking, etc. My mother caught her foot on the steep narrow stair rungs while staying there at one time and managed to break her ankle. The house will always have a special place in my heart.