The Lindens (King Hooper House)

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The Lindens is a superb example of a luxurious mid-18th-century New England Georgian townhouse. It was originally built on Sylvan Street in Danvers, Essex County, Massachusetts in 1754 by Robert Hooper of Marblehead. Hooper was a successful merchant, commonly called "King" Hooper due to his great wealth and luxurious style of living.

In the spring of 1774, General Thomas Gage, who had been Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in North America, was appointed Governor of the Province of Massachusetts, and as "King" Hooper was a Loyalist sympathizer, Governor Gage made the Lindens his home from June to September of 1774. As the residence of the British Governor, the Lindens became the headquarters of the Loyalist cause in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Gage's enforcement of the rigorous decrees of Parliament brought the colonists to the point of insurrection. On April 19, 1775, Gage sent a small force of British soldiers from Boston to seize one of the depots of provisions and military stores at Concord, thus precipitating the Revolutionary War.

In the 1930s, George and Miriam Morris purchased the house, except for a paneled drawing room, which had been sold to a museum. Seeking a home to display their collection of early American furniture, the Morrises painstakingly restored the house under the direction of the lead architect from Colonial Williamsburg and reconstructed it in Washington between 1935 and 1938. Over the 45 years that they lived in the house, the Morrises opened it to many visitors, whom they would see in period costume. Since 1983, the house has served as a private residence and has seen some interior modernization.

DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: June 4, 1969