The Stephen Phillips House is the large grey and white building just beyond the white picket fence, with tall chimneys and rows of black shutters along the windows-look straight ahead, framed by snow-dusted tree branches.
Now, take a moment to imagine ship captains, heiresses, and a real piece of “house-moving” drama, all bundled up in this elegant mansion designed by Samuel McIntyre. The story actually begins with Elias Hasket Derby, a sea trade tycoon who practically sailed his way into millions. After Derby passed away, his fortune flowed to his daughter Elizabeth, and her husband, Captain Nathaniel West, who built a grand country estate on Derby’s Danvers land. But when their marriage went from smooth sailing to stormy seas, a divorce forced Captain West away from the property. Elizabeth’s daughters next held the keys, but tragedy and inheritance squabbles led Nathaniel to claim a third-and, in true house-flipping fashion, he physically moved four entire rooms here to Salem! Imagine neighbors watching those walls trundle down the road. As the years rolled on, Stephen W. Phillips bought the house, packing it with five generations of treasured family furnishings from travels far and wide. The house sits today just as Phillips left it, a museum brimming with antiques, world artifacts, and a hefty dose of family history. If you love a good inheritance squabble or just want decorating tips from the 1800s, you’re definitely in the right place!
