{{short description|Founder of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities}} {{Infobox person | name = William Sumner Appleton Jr. | image = William Sumner Appleton Jr. 1896.png | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1874|05|29}} | birth_place = Boston, Massachusetts | death_date = {{Death date and age|1947|11|24|1874|05|29}} | death_place = Lawrence, Massachusetts | burial_place = Mount Auburn Cemetery | other_names = | occupation = | years_active = | known_for = Founder of SPNEA | notable_works = | alma_mater = Harvard College }} '''William Sumner Appleton Jr.''' (May 29, 1874 – November 24, 1947) was founder of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA) in 1910. He was the chief force behind much of the preservation of historic homes in the New England area.

==Early life== Appleton was born on May 29, 1874, in Boston to William Sumner Appleton (1840–1903)<ref>{{cite BDA1906 |wstitle= Appleton, William Sumner |volume= 1 |page= 133 |short=1}}</ref> and Edith Stuart (d. 1892).<ref>William Theophilus R. Marvin. [https://books.google.com/books?id=R4dIz_bTNrAC William Sumner Appleton]. Boston: D. Clapp, 1904; p.4.</ref> As a boy he lived at 39 Beacon Street (also known as the Nathan Appleton Residence). He was from an old and wealthy family.<ref>Little, 1947-1950; p.422.</ref>

He was educated at Hopkinson's School for Boys, Boston, and graduated from Harvard College in 1896.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=g-8nAAAAYAAJ Harvard College Class of 1896 secretary's fifth report]. Plimpton Press, 1916; p.6-7.</ref>

==Career== Appleton worked tirelessly to promote preservation of buildings from the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. He focused on buildings that were aesthetically pleasing, had historic significance, and could be independently supported. He was a member of the London Survey Committee, a voluntary organisation publishing architectural surveys of the capital.<ref>{{cite web |title=Members of the Survey Committee Pages 4-7 Survey of London Monograph 12 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/bk12/pp4-7 |website=British History Online |publisher=Guild & School of Handicraft, London, 1926. |access-date=27 February 2024}}</ref>

His method of preservation focused on cautious, deliberate restoration only when experts were involved and restorations were reversible. When he died in 1947, the SPNEA had grown tremendously and remains a strong and active organization today. Renamed Historic New England, the organization owns thirty-six historic properties.<ref>[http://www.historicnewengland.org/NEHM/NEWWSpringPage02.htm "Three old houses cast their spell on America's first preservationist, William Sumner Appleton]." Historic New England Magazine - Spring 2001.</ref>

==Personal life== Around 1916, Appleton lived on Spruce Street in Boston.<ref>Harvard College Class of 1896 secretary's fifth report, 1916</ref>

Appleton died on November 24, 1947, in Lawrence, Massachusetts.<ref>Little, 1947-1950; p.425.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18997091/ne_authority_on_landmarks_dies/ |title=N.E. Authority On Landmarks Dies |newspaper=The Berkshire Eagle |location=Pittsfield, Massachusetts |page=3 |date=November 25, 1947 |accessdate=April 6, 2018 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> He is buried in a plot with his sister, Marjorie, who preceded him in death by 34 years, aged about 38.

==References== {{reflist}}

==Further reading==

===Works by Appleton=== * Birthplace of Samuel Gilman. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ji8pAAAAYAAJ The Harvard graduates' magazine], v.26, no.102, 1917; p.&nbsp;225+ * Destruction and preservation of old buildings in New England. [https://books.google.com/books?id=X8YUAAAAYAAJ Art and Archaeology], v.8, no.3, p.&nbsp;131-183. Colonial art number. May–June 1919. *{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18998052/great_interest_in_historic_homes/ |title=Great Interest in Historic Homes |newspaper=The News Journal |location=Wilmington, Delaware |page=6 |date=December 28, 1929 |accessdate=April 6, 2018 |via=newspapers.com}}

===Works about Appleton=== * Bertram Kimball Little. William Sumner Appleton. Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Third Series, Vol. 69 (October, 1947-May 1950), pp.&nbsp;422–425. * Edward P. Alexander. Sixty Years of Historic Preservation: The Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. [http://www.historicnewengland.org/resources/OTNE.asp Old-Time New England]. Volume: 61 Number: 221 Issue: Summer, 1970. * N. Coolidge. William Sumner Appleton and the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. The Magazine Antiques. March 1986. Vol.129. * James M. Lindgren. "A Constant Incentive to Patriotic Citizenship": Historic Preservation in Progressive-Era Massachusetts. The New England Quarterly, Vol. 64, No. 4 (December 1991), pp.&nbsp;594–608. * James Michael Lindgren. "'It belongs to men like you.' William Sumner Appleton and the makings of a preservationist." [https://books.google.com/books?id=L9isP2JUixQC Preserving historic New England]: preservation, progressivism, and the remaking of memory. Oxford University Press US, 1995; p.&nbsp;15+ * James M. Lindgren. "A New Departure in Historic, Patriotic Work": Personalism, Professionalism, and Conflicting Concepts of Material Culture in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries. The Public Historian, Vol. 18, No. 2 (Spring, 1996), pp.&nbsp;41–60. * James M. Lindgren. "The Blow Which Civilization Has Suffered": American Preservationists and the Great War, 1914-1919. The Public Historian, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Summer, 2005), pp.&nbsp;27–56.

==External links== *{{find a Grave|6687935}}

{{Historic New England}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Appleton, William Sumner}} Category:20th-century American philanthropists Category:American historic preservationists Category:Harvard College alumni Category:People from Beacon Hill, Boston William Sumner Category:1874 births Category:1947 deaths