Continuing up State Street, the next building is the Dalton House. Built in 1746, it is a typical formal Georgian mansion of the mid-18th century, certainly one of the finest in Newburyport. The style is called Georgian after the line of kings who came to the English throne in 1714. Note that the Georgian house is dressier and more formal that the simple, functional first period (1600s to 1725) colonial house that preceded it. The large central chimney is replaced by two chimneys near the ends of the house, allowing for a large central hall and impressive stairway. Symmetry is stressed, with paired windows on either side of the main entrance. The gambrel roof has a break in its pitch, the lower slope being much steeper than the higher slope; this is a practical innovation as it gives more head room in the attic. Dormers, capped with smaller pediments, appear on the roof. Doorways, window moldings, and cornices are enriched with classical details. Rustication - the use of wood to imitate cut stone - gives the front of the building a feeling of solidity. George Washington used similar facade treatment on Mount Vernon.

This house was built by Michael Dalton, a rich and influential merchant. It was later occupied by his son Tristam Dalton, Senator to the first United States Congress from Massachusetts.

Look across to the Carter-Tilton house, circa 1800, at 100 State Street. This is a good example of a brick Federal house. During the Federal period, architectural enrichment becomes lighter, more delicate, more restrained. Note the round door frame over the balcony with the graceful window and shutters. The small tooth-like blocks along the lower edge of the cornice are called, appropriately, dentils. Francis Todd, Newburyport's only confirmed slave ship owner, lived here.

The Titcomb-Raymond-Healy House, circa 1808, is three doors up on the left side of the street, and is similar but simpler in design. Note the graceful arched window in the center of the second floor. Look back down State street at the variety of fences, just a vestige of what was once there, some iron, some picket. Now walk to the corner of State and High, at the traffic light.