McIntire, Samuel

Samuel McIntire (1757-1811), widely known for his woodcarvings, was also one of the first architects in the United States. Influenced by Boston's Charles Bullfinch, he gradually learned the profession after years as a master woodcarver. His architecture style is categorized as Federal Style.

Little is known about McIntire's personal life. He was born in Salem in 1757 and grew up in a family of housewrights. Samuel married Sally Fields in 1778, and the couple had one son.

He became well-known in Salem as an architect after Elias H. Derby hired him to design a home. McIntire went on to design more homes for Derby and soon became sought after by many wealthy Salemites.

Some of his famous buildings still standing are the Pierce-Nichols House, the Gardner-Pingree House and the Peabody-Silsbee House. Some of his public buildings are the Assembly Hall and Hamilton Hall.

See Also

• Samuel McIntire Salem Tales website

• Samuel McIntire Salem Focus Website

• Samuel McIntire: carving an American style by Dean T. Lahikainen

• The Wood-carver of Salem by Frank Cousins

• Mr. Samuel McIntire, carver, the architect of Salem by Fiske Kimball

• Essex Institute Historical Collection Vol. 93, p.113-222