History
The Macy-Colby House in Amesbury, MA was originally built by Thomas Macy, probably about 1649, and sold to Anthony Colby in 1654. The saltbox structure was extensively modified by Obadiah Colby (1706-1749) in the early 1740s.
Thomas Macy (1608-1682) was Amesbury’s first town clerk, he held many town offices, and was involved in numerous land transactions. He left Amesbury in 1659 after years of conflict with local puritanical leaders. He became the first European settler to establish his family on the island of Nantucket. Macy became the subject of a poem by the 19th-century poet John Greenleaf Whittier entitled, The Exile, depicting the plight of Quakers in the religious intolerant Puritan society.
Anthony Colby (1605-1660/61) came to America with the Winthrop fleet in 1630. He first settled in Cambridge, MA and was in Salisbury, MA by 1640, and was one of the first settlers of the new town of Amesbury in 1650. He was active in town affairs, served in various offices, and was part owner of a local sawmill.
Anthony Colby’s descendants owned the Macy-Colby property for 245 years; nine generations of Colby’s lived in this house. In 1899, Moses Colby (1822-1901) donated the house and property to the Bartlett Cemetery Association as a memorial to the Colby and Macy families, and to the people of Amesbury, Massachusetts.
The Macy-Colby House is located at 257 Main Street, Amesbury, MA (NOT a mailing address) The property is owned by the Bartlett Cemetery Association The property is maintained by the Friends of the Macy-Colby House Association The Macy-Colby House is opened in the summers on Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
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