Discover the

Elizabeth Taber House

A historic Italianate three-story home in the seaside village of Marion, Massachusetts, thoughtfully renovated to blend modern comforts with timeless charm.

Historic Preservation Awards

13 Cottage Street, Marion MA

The History of the Elizabeth Taber House

Known as “Marion’s Fairy Godmother,” Elizabeth Sprague Pitcher Taber (1791-1888) was the town’s most significant benefactress. After the death of her husband, a wealthy New Bedford clockmaker, she used her wealth to rejuvenate the town where she grew up. In 1872, she bought 10 acres of land and provided funds for a Victorian building to house the town’s library on its first floor and a natural history museum on its second floor. She went on to build the First Congregational Church Chapel and Marion Music Hall. But her contribution to education is perhaps her most profound philanthropy. In 1876, at the age of 85, she founded Tabor Academy, naming it after Mount Tabor in Palestine rather than herself. She funded and oversaw construction of Tabor Academy’s original two Victorian buildings on the corner of Spring and Main Streets. In 1880, she built a residence for the Headmaster and students, where she would also live until her death at age of 97. This is the Elizabeth Taber House.

The house was originally located on Spring Street, until 1938, when the “Tabor Swap” was finalized. In the swap, Marion received the library and the schoolhouse (now the Marion Town Hall) and land to build a new elementary school (now Sippican School), and Tabor Academy received land along the harbor. The house was moved, rolling on great logs pulled by horses through the fields, to its current location at 13 Cottage Street. It was then owned by the Peterson family (of Petersen’s Ice Cream fame) then sold back to Tabor Academy in 1946, where it again housed Tabor administration and students. Tabor Academy continued to grow and in 1985 sold the property and house back to the town.

For many years, the house stood empty, despite the town’s attempts to sell it. The interior had been partitioned into numerous small rooms, and the kitchen in the back of the house was small and dark. In 1997, the house finally found a buyer.

From 1959 to 1979, the Fullers and their five girls spent summers in Marion with Barbara’s parents, John and Ruah MacNeil, at their 75 Water Street estate overlooking Sippican Harbor. In 1997, the Fullers purchased Taber Hall and fully renovated it with renowned architect Lyman Goff. With five daughters and ten grandchildren, they created space for 12 beds, a large third-floor playroom, an in-law apartment in the rear, and an outdoor eating area (the gazebo), making Marion again a special place for the children.

The Elizabeth Taber House stands proudly today with its Tuscan columns as a reminder of the generosity and dedication of its original owner.

https://marionma.gov/documentcenter/view/1255

“It ranks among the most full-blown examples of the Italianate style in Marion. Rising from a granite block foundation…it is enclosed by a gable roof which is crowned by a small, distinctive, finial-topped cupola. Although the porches of its main facade and rear ell are no longer extant, the house’s overall form and character-defining features remain intact.”