Samuel McIntire
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Samuel McIntire (January 16, 1757 — February 6, 1811) was an American architect and craftsman. He was one of the earliest architects in the United States, and was one of the primary examples of Federal style architecture. Born in Salem, Massachusetts to Sarah (Ruck) and Joseph McIntire, he was a woodcarver by trade who grew into the practice of architecture. He married Elizabeth Field on October 10, 1778, and had one son. He built a simple home and workshop on Summer Street in 1786.
Early on, McIntire was hired by Salem's pre-eminent merchant and America's first millionaire, Elias Hasket Derby, and built or remodeled a series of houses for Derby's extended family starting circa 1780. He taught himself the Palladian style of architecture from books, and relatively quickly made a name for himself designing elaborate houses for the aristocracy in Salem. In 1792 he competed for the design of the United States Capitol.
McIntire worked in the Neoclassical style of Robert Adam, which he inherited from fellow federalist architect Charles Bulfinch. Unlike Bulfinch, however, whose designs were featured across the East Coast, McIntire built almost exclusively in New England, and his work became the commonest style. His houses were typically three-storied, four-bedroom affairs, and his own carved swags, rosettes, garlands, and sheaves of wheat dominate their interior wooden surfaces. McIntire's Salem works include the Peirce-Nichols, the Peabody-Silsbee, the Gardner-White-Pingree, and the Elias Haskett Derby residences. His public buildings are Assembly Hall, Hamilton Hall, Washington Hall, and the courthouse, all in Salem. The latter two no longer stand.
He was a skilled artisan, especially in furniture, and his skill extended to sculpting. Among his works are busts of Voltaire and John Winthrop, the first governor of Massachusetts. Both are now owned by the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts.
McIntire's grave is in the Burying Point Cemetery, Salem, where his epigraph reads:
- In Memory of Mr. Samuel McIntire who died Feb. 6, 1811, Æt. 54. He was distinguished for Genius in Architecture, Sculpture, and Musick: Modest and sweet Manners rendered him pleasing: Industry, and Integrity respectable: He professed the Religion of Jesus in his entrance on manly life; and proved its excellence by virtuous Principle and unblemished conduct.
 Benjamin Hawkes House |
