[Jeffrey Lang House.]

Abstract

SV072 — Nelson Dionne Collection. View of the Jeffrey Lang House at 369-371 ½ Essex Street, built c. 1740. For almost half a century during the 1800s, the house was occupied by a variety store (or "cent shop") at 371 ½. This store was first operated by Mrs. Sarah "Sally" Bacon, from c. 1842 to her death in 1865. By 1860, a younger woman, Miss Louisa A. Rhoades, joined Sally Bacon in running the store. Following Bacon's death in 1865, Rhoades became the sole proprietress of the variety store until its closure c. 1889. The property of the home itself was purchased by politician William Crowninshield Endicott c. 1862-64 along with the neighboring Cabot House (slightly visible in the far-left background) at 365 Essex Street. In 1894, ownership passed to Endicott's friend, merchant and silversmith Daniel Low, and the building was demolished sometime around 1895, establishing a larger yard for the Cabot-Endicott-Low House. Upon destruction of the Jeffrey Lang House, Miss Rhoades moved down the street to 314 ½ Essex Street, where she seems to have lived until her death in 1898. Published by J.W. & J.S. Moulton, Salem, Mass., in, "New Series, American Views," as part of "Gems of American Scenery," c. 1873-76.