Transcribed without making changes to spelling and grammar. Transcribed by Joyce Robinson (Transcriber's note: This is a very lengthy article depicting the residences of the 1880 era and when they were built. I have capitalized the names for easier viewing. -- Joyce) The Portsmouth Times Dated: May 29, 1880 The Medieval Residences of Portsmouth It may be interesting to many of our readers to know who built and owned some of the older dwellings of Portsmouth, and to that end we have prepared a list of a few of them. We will be glad to hear from any one who can add to the list, or make corrections if any misstatements occur. The residences in question were mostly considered elegant habitations in their day, but the march of improvement has left them in the rear, but they are generally substantial and comfortable, and reflect the taste and architecture of another and almost forgotten era: The residence at the corner of Court and Front streets, owned and occupied by CAPTAIN W. W. LITTLE, was built and occupied by MR. T. G. GAYLORD, SR., and pioneer of the Gaylord Rolling Mill, and uncle of MR. BENJAMIN GARLORD, SR. It was built in 1836, and was considered the finest residence in the place at the time of its erection, and even at the present day is not far behind the best of its modern rivals. The next building above, at present occupied by MR. H. B. MURRAY, was built the same year, by MR. JOSEPH RIGGS, and occupied by him for many years. The frame building two door further east, and until lately occupied by MR. GEORGE YEAMENS, was the DR. SHAKLEFORD mansion, and occupied by him until he built the elegant residence on Fourth street, now owned and occupied by CAPTAIN E. B. MOORE. The next building to the east, the present residence of MR. WM. BURT, was the COL. PETER KINNEY mansion, built about 1844, and was a very stylish structure in its palmy (sic) days. On the lot where MR. ROBERT MONTGOMERY now resides stood the Colonel Row mansion, and we believe the old-fashioned building still comprises the rear portion of the Montgomery residence. The brick dwelling until lately occupied by MR. T. G. ADAMS, was built and occupied till the time of his death by MR. SAMUL TRACY, an eminent lawyer, and father of MRS. GEORGE JOHNSON and MRS. M. B. ROSS. About all the style of the place in those old days was on the square on Front street, between Court and Washington streets, and many of our elderly and middle-aged citizens will recall with pleasure the happy scenes of that charming locality in the sweet long ago. The frame building on the northeast corner of Front and Washington streets was built and occupied by CAPT. J. W. DAVIS, an old-time merchant and steamboatman, and whose name is deeply identified with the business interests of the place in those days. Many will remember the Captain's accomplished family, and recall with pleasure the good cheer and merry times enjoyed at "Davis'." The CAPTAIN subsequently removed to Rose Ridge building and occupying what is now the elegant mansion of THOS. P. BROWN. The low, squatty frame building on Front street, opposite the rolling mill, and now crowded and encroached upon by the mill and almost hidden by smoke, was the residence of MR. JOHN R. TURNER, and the premises were formerly quite attractive. Mr. Turner was Clerk of the Court for many years. In 1831 JUDGE GEORGE CORWINE built the one story brick at the southeast corner of Front and Chillicothe streets, at present the residence of MR. JAMES EVANS. There was a frame addition to it, which formerly blocked up Front street, the opening of which necessitated its removal. The W. P. MARTIN residence, on Second street, was the Robinson mansion, having been built in 1838 by MR. J. V. ROBINSON, father of L. C. ROBINSON, MRS. W. A. HUTCHINS, and MRS. CHARLOTTE TURLEY. Mr. Robinson was a successful merchant, and did as much as any man of his time for the interests of Portsmouth. In the rear of the saloon on the northeast corner of Second and Jefferson streets is still standing a little old lead-colored one story brick, that looks as if it had been driven into the ground, and seems to be hiding itself away from modern gaze. That building was built and occupied by COL. PETER KINNEY, in days so remote that the mind of the present generation hardly runneth back to the time. MR. JOHN NEIL's present residence, corner of Third and Market streets, was the DR. HEMPSTEAD mansion, and is one of the oldest residences now standing in the city. The arched doorway and sunken ornamental window immediately over it, indicate an architectural period long past. The frame building just above, and occupied by MR. JOHN B. GREGORY, was built by MR. C. C. HYATT, in 1836, and afterward sold to the late JOHN McDOWELL, who occupied it until the building of his later residence, now owned and occupied by MR. D. N. MURRAY. The McDowell mansion, with its superb grounds and wealth of fruit, was always a desirable place, for both old and young. The COLONEL BOTLES mansion was built by MR. ELI KINNEY and occupied by him up to the time of his removal to Cincinnati. It is still one of the finest and mostly costly residences in the city. The older portion of MRS. BURWELL's residence, at Fourth and Washington, was built and occupied by MR. B. F. CONWAY, a merchant of former days, who removed from this city to Baltimore. Mr. Conway built "Pig Iron Corner," at Front and Jefferson streets. JUDGE WM. V. PECK owned and occupied what if now the residence of SAMUEL McCINNELL, ESQ., on Marker street. In those days Market street was on a level with the present door-yards of the property in that locality, and all east of Market and north of Sixth was commons, and a great place for the boys to have fun, the Peck mansion being headquarters. The present residence of THOMAS F. HALL was the CLOUGH mansion, and is the oldest brick house in that part of the city. The arched door-way and fan-shaped transom of that period is visible here also. The queer old building on Front street, between Madison and Mussie, and lately known as the Buckeye House, was the JAMES LODWICK mansion. Mr. Lodwick kept store, and had the post office at one time and also had a lumber yard, and the school boy who was fortunate enough to put in Saturday playing in Lodwick's board piles was peculiarly favored. The old building holds its own pretty well in that part of the city, for the architectural boom has not yet struck the First Ward. The building comprising ALBERT KNITTEL's confectionery and DR. DAVIDSON's residence and office, was built by the late DAVID SCOTT, and occupied by him for many years. Another place well remembered and beloved of school boys was the residence of CHARLES OSCAR TRACY, ESQ., father of MR. URI TRACY, MRS. F. J. OAKES and MRS. J. W. DAVIS, and an eminent lawyer. It was on Court street, and is now owned and occupied by CAPT. WASH WILLIAMSON. The frame building at the northwest corner of Second and Court streets was built by DR. ODAERE in 1832, and was occupied at that early day by our present fellow-citizen, MR. C. C. HYATT. The buildings occupied by MR. JOHN K. LODWICK and MR. DUNHAM, on Fourth street, were built by HENRY BUCHANAN, a banker, at a very early day. The present residence of MRS. JAMES STEPHSON, on Fourth street, was built and owned by MR. C. C. HYATT, and subsequently purchased and occupied by MR. M. B. ROSS. Mr. Hyatt was a young and active brick mason in those days, and did the work on many of the buildings referred to. At the northeast corner of Second and Court streets, and now hidden by the Tribune building and business houses to the eastward, still stands a two story brick structure which was erected by MR. J. V. ROBINSON, in 1828. Later it became the residence of his son, the late J. N. ROBINSON, and as such will be remembered by many middle-aged people. The building sat back from Court and Second streets, and was overhung by huge weeping willow trees, and the grounds were the site of many a scene of pleasure and enjoyment, of both a public and private nature. There are perhaps very few people living who are aware that the structure is still standing. One of the oldest buildings in the city is the frame structure on Second street, occupied by GEORGE FISHER, grocer. It was built by URIAH WHITE, father of ISRAEL WHITE, about 1833. It has been built and remodeled several times since its original construction. In 1832 MR. WILSON GATES, father of ERASTUS and DAVID GATES, built the brick house on Second street, between Court and Washington, and now occupied by MR. LEVI, the butcher. Mr. Gates resided there until 1848, when it was purchased by MR. CHARLES HENKING, then partner of C. A. M. Damarin. On Massie street, adjoining Eberhardt's faoudry, and almost hidden by modern structures of various kinds, is an old-story-and-a-half building, in almost the last stages of decay. There is something about the building which impresses the beholder with the idea that it has seen better days. The inevitable side porch and slanting roof are there, the latter upheld by sturday columns, and the whole building having, even in its decay, a compact aspect which indicates that it will yet outlast the modern and rickety structures with which it is surrounded. On one side the foundry roars and rattles, on the other the rolling mill thunders and smokes, right opposite is Reitz & Bode's stone saw mill, while rickety wooden structures of modern build crowd upon it and thrust their angular proportions upon the ground where once the blooming heliotrope and climbing honeysuckle told of the abode of wealth and comfort. A huge ?ilanth?s, the only remaining vestige of former verdure, stands like a guartdian angel in front, and seems loth to leave the old house in the hour of its decay. This place was the residence of JOHN CRAIGHEAD, a commission merchant of the olden time. The present foundry building was the Craighead warehouse, and lively times were witnessed there in old canal days. The First Ward was more "toney" then than now, and many a gay party assembled in the Craighead mansion in days lang syne. The brick building on Fourth street, adjoining All Saints' Church, was built and occupied by MR. RATCLIFF, in very early times. The rear portion of MR. T. M. LYNN's residence was built by MR. WILLIAM HALL, where he resided until he moved to Rose Ridge, where he ended his days. The WASHINGTON KINNEY mansion was two doors below, and when it was built was probably the largest residence in the ward.