1707 Plympton Home of Luke and Martha (Conant) Perkins

I was so thrilled to see the 1707 Plympton, Massachusetts home of my 9^th great-grandparents Luke and Ruth (Conant) Perkins as the subject of the HGTV show “Houses with History.” I did not even know their house was still standing! The television show follows the work of preservationists Mike Lemieux, Rich Soares and Jen MacDonald. Lemieux and MacDonald own Full Circle Homes and a shop in Plympton called Mayflower Mercantile. They really did a remarkable job restoring this beautiful old Cape Cod style center chimney home. Thank goodness for people like this who save historic homes from the wrecking ball.

 

Luke and Martha Perkins' home, Crescent Street, Plympton 

I took a drive by the property and it’s just gorgeous. It’s located on Crescent Street in Plympton, a winding country road. It’s amazing that the area remains rural and other than a newer (but still antique) home next door, the paved road, and the utility wires, Luke and Martha could return today and recognize it immediately. Behind the house is a cranberry bog and across the street is a field. There are stone walls and plentiful trees. It is an absolutely idyllic setting.  Before moving to Plympton, Luke moved a few times, probably to find better paying blacksmith jobs since men with his skill were in huge demand. But after moving to Plympton they stayed put. Driving down that beautiful street, I can see why!

 

I edited out utility wires; they just look so wrong!

The town of Plympton granted Luke Perkins an 18 acre parcel of land at Rocky Run when he agreed to be the town’s blacksmith. Luke and Martha relocated to Plympton from Ipswich on the North Shore, built their home there and stayed until they passed away in their 80s. (I thought they settled in Plympton about 1714, but on the show they say the house was built by Luke in 1707).  According to the show, the home was in just two families until it was purchased by Full Circle Homes. The sellers live on a farm next door, and I believe they own the majority of the 20 acres and they also have blacksmithing items recovered from the property.

 

Field directly across from the house

Luke Perkins was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts (a Boston neighborhood) in 1667, the son of Luke and Hannah (Long) Perkins. In 1668 Luke married Martha Conant at Salem, Essex, Massachusetts. Martha was the granddaughter of Roger Conant, the founder of Salem (there’s even a statue of him there).

 

Luke and Martha had seven children, including a son Luke from whom I descend. Luke died at Plympton in 1748 at age 81 and Martha in 1754 at age 89. They are buried at the Old Burial Ground (also called Hillcrest Cemetery) on Main Street in Plympton. If you’d like to learn more about Luke and Martha, see the full sketch I wrote here. .