Paul Cuffe Farm

Last updated
Paul Cuffe Farm
Paul Cuffe Farm, Westport MA.jpg
View from the northeast
USA Massachusetts location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Westport, Massachusetts
Coordinates 41°32′57″N71°4′6″W / 41.54917°N 71.06833°W / 41.54917; -71.06833 Coordinates: 41°32′57″N71°4′6″W / 41.54917°N 71.06833°W / 41.54917; -71.06833
Built1780
NRHP reference No. 74000394 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 30, 1974
Designated NHLMay 30, 1974 [2]

The Paul Cuffe Farm is a National Historic Landmark on 1504 Drift Road in Westport, Massachusetts. [2] The house was traditionally and incorrectly believed to be owned by Paul Cuffe (1759-1815), a prominent farmer and merchant of African American and Native American ancestry. Cuffe was active in promoting the idea of returning African Americans to Africa, making a voyage to what is now Sierra Leone in 1811 to support a fledgling colony there. The farm was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974. [1]

Contents

Description and history

The farmstead is located in rural southern Westport, on the western bank of the East Branch Westport River. It is reached from Drift Road by a long drive, and is set in a landscaped clearing overlooking the river. It is a 2+12-story wood-frame structure, resting on a granite foundation, with two interior brick chimneys rising from the gabled roof. Construction of the house is estimated to have been around 1780, based on architectural analysis of its chimneys. The property also has evidence of wooden-pile wharves of similar antiquity, and submerged granite blocks which suggest a stone pier may have once been located there. [3]

Although the house was believed to belong to Paul Cuffe at the time of its National Historic Landmark designation in 1974, subsequent research by local historians has cast doubt on this attribution. Although Cuffe was known to own land in this area, and may have used the wharves on this property in his merchant business, the documented ownership history of this parcel does not include him. Between 1748 and 1884 the property was under the continuous ownership of members of the Tripp family. It is possible that Cuffe's son-in-law lived here briefly. [3]

Paul Cuffe (1759-1815) was born to an African father and a Wampanoag mother on Cuttyhunk Island. From poor beginnings, he went to sea, rising to become a ship's captain and then owner. His work promoting efforts to resettle former slaves to Africa brought him an international reputation, including contact with high-profile Americans such as Albert Gallatin and James Madison. Cuffe was also active in the promotion of civil rights in his native Massachusetts, petitioning the state for tax relief because he was not allowed to vote. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

John Adams Birthplace United States historic place

The John Adams Birthplace is a historic house at 133 Franklin Street in Quincy, Massachusetts. It is the saltbox home in which the second president of the United States, John Adams, was born in 1735. The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is now administered by the National Park Service as part of the Adams National Historical Park, and is open for guided tours.

Elmwood (Cambridge, Massachusetts) Historic house in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Elmwood, also known as the Oliver-Gerry-Lowell House, is a historic house and centerpiece of a National Historic Landmark District in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is known for several prominent former residents, including: Thomas Oliver (1734–1815), royal Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts; Elbridge Gerry (1744–1814), signer of the US Declaration of Independence, Vice President of the United States and eponym of the term "gerrymandering"; and James Russell Lowell (1819–1891), noted American writer, poet, and foreign diplomat.

Spencer–Peirce–Little Farm United States historic place

The Spencer–Peirce–Little Farm is a Colonial American farm located at 5 Little's Lane, Newbury, Massachusetts, United States, in the midst of 231 acres (93 ha) of open land bordering the Merrimack River and Plum Island Sound. The farmhouse, dating to c. 1690, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968 as an extremely rare 17th-century stone house in New England. It is now a nonprofit museum owned and operated by Historic New England and open to the public several days a week during the warmer months; an admission fee is charged for non Members.

Paul Cuffe American businessman

Paul Cuffe, also known as Paul Cuffee was an American businessman, whaler and abolitionist. Born free into a multiracial family on Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts, Cuffe became a successful merchant and sea captain. His mother, Ruth Moses, was a Wampanoag from Harwich, Cape Cod and his father an Ashanti captured as a child in West Africa and sold into slavery in Newport about 1720. In the mid-1740s, his father was manumitted by his Quaker owner, John Slocum. His parents married in 1747 in Dartmouth.

Arthur H. Compton House United States historic place

The Arthur H. Compton House is a historic house at 5637 South Woodlawn Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. Built in 1905 and designed by architects Holabird & Roche, it was the residence of physicist Arthur Compton (1892–1962) from 1928 until 1945. Compton discovered the Compton Effect in 1923, proving that light has both a particle and a wave aspect. Compton received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1927 for this discovery. His house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

Daniel Webster Family Home United States historic place

The Daniel Webster Family Home, also known as The Elms, is a historic house off South Main Street in West Franklin, New Hampshire. The house has been designated a National Historic Landmark for its importance as the summer home of Daniel Webster (1782–1852), who owned it from 1829 until his death.

Kingscote (mansion) United States historic place

Kingscote is a Gothic Revival mansion and house museum at Bowery Street and Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, designed by Richard Upjohn and built in 1839. It was one of the first summer "cottages" constructed in Newport, and is now a National Historic Landmark. It was remodeled and extended by George Champlin Mason and later by Stanford White. It was owned by the King family from 1864 until 1972, when it was given to the Preservation Society of Newport County.

Robert Frost Farm (Ripton, Vermont) United States historic place

The Robert Frost Farm, also known as the Homer Noble Farm, is a National Historic Landmark in Ripton, Vermont. It is a 150-acre (61 ha) farm property off Vermont Route 125 in the Green Mountains where American poet Robert Frost (1874-1963) lived and wrote in the summer and fall months from 1939 until his death in 1963. The property, historically called the Homer Noble Farm, includes a nineteenth-century farmhouse and a rustic wooden writing cabin. The property is now owned by Middlebury College. The grounds are open to the public during daylight hours.

Vernon House Historic house in Newport, Rhode Island

The Vernon House is a historic house in Newport, Rhode Island built in 1758 for Metcalf Bowler. The house is an architecturally distinguished colonial-era house with a construction history probably dating back to the late 17th century, with alterations made in the 18th century, possibly by architect Peter Harrison. During the American Revolutionary War this house served as the headquarters of the Comte de Rochambeau, commander of the French forces stationed in Newport 1780–1783. The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968.

Hamilton House (South Berwick, Maine) United States historic place

The Jonathan Hamilton House, also known as the Hamilton House, is a historic house at 40 Vaughan's Lane in South Berwick, Maine. Built between 1787 and 1788 by a merchant from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, this National Historic Landmark is a little-altered and high quality late Georgian country house. Acquired by preservationist friends of South Berwick native Sarah Orne Jewett at the turn of the 20th century, it is now a historic house museum owned by Historic New England, open for tours between June and October.

Lady Pepperrell House United States historic place

The Lady Pepperrell House is an American historic house in Kittery Point, Maine. It stands on State Route 103, opposite the First Congregational Church and Parsonage. Built in 1760 by Lady Mary Pepperrell, widow of Sir William Pepperrell, the house is one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in New England. Pepperrell was the only colonial American to be honored with a baronetcy, awarded by King George II for his leadership of the 1745 expedition against the French Fortress Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island. The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960, but remains in private ownership, subject to preservation restrictions held by Historic New England.

General John Glover House United States historic place

The General John Glover House is a National Historic Landmark at 11 Glover Street in Marblehead, Massachusetts. It is a 2+12-story gambrel-roofed colonial built in 1762 by John Glover (1732–1797), a local merchant, politician, and militia leader who gained fame for his military leadership in the American Revolutionary War. The house was declared a National Historic Landmark and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, for its association with Glover, who lived here during the war years.

John Ward House (Salem, Massachusetts) United States historic place

The John Ward House is a National Historic Landmark at 132 Essex Street in Salem, Massachusetts, United States. With an early construction history between 1684 and 1723, it is an excellent example of First Period architecture, and as the subject of an early 20th-century restoration by antiquarian George Francis Dow, it is an important example of the restoration techniques. Now owned by the Peabody Essex Museum, it is also one of the first colonial-era houses in the United States to be opened as a museum. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968.

Gardner–Pingree House United States historic place

The Gardner–Pingree House is a historic house museum at 128 Essex Street in Salem, Massachusetts. It is judged to be a masterpiece of Federal architecture by the noted Salem builder Samuel McIntire, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972 for its architectural significance. It is owned by the Peabody Essex Museum as part of its architectural collection, and is open to the public for guided tours.

John B. Gough House United States historic place

The John B. Gough House, also known as Hillside, is a National Historic Landmark at 215 Main Street in Boylston, Massachusetts. It is significant as the home of temperance orator John B. Gough, and as an excellent example of Italianate architecture. Gough was born in England and came to the United States as a child. After the death of his mother in 1835, his life descended into alcoholism, until he took a temperance pledge in 1842. In 1846 he married Mary Whitcombe, a Boylston native, and in 1848 built this two story farmhouse, which is where he lived until his death in 1886.

John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites United States historic place

The John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites is a National Historic Landmark consisting of two separate properties in Duxbury, Massachusetts, United States. Both properties are significant for their association with John Alden, one of the settlers of the Plymouth Colony who came to North America on board the Mayflower, and held numerous posts of importance in the colony. Alden and his relationship with Priscilla Mullins were memorialized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in The Courtship of Miles Standish, a fictionalized narrative poem that made the story a piece of American folklore.

Ross Farm (Northampton, Massachusetts) United States historic place

Ross Farm is a historic farmhouse at 123 Meadow Street in Northampton, Massachusetts. Its importance rests in its significance as the site of a utopian community that operated there from 1841 to 1845, and for its use as a site on the Underground Railroad. Once part of a 300-acre (120 ha) parcel, the property has been reduced to 2.25 acres (0.91 ha), whose only significant structure is the farmhouse which was built in 1825.

Beebe Homestead United States historic place

Beebe Homestead, also known as the Lucius Beebe House and Beebe Farm, is a historic Federal period home at 142 Main Street in Wakefield, Massachusetts, which was built during the federal era that extended from the late 18th-century into the 1820s. It is suspected to have been remodeled into the federal style from an earlier home built in circa 1727. It overlooks Lake Quannapowitt, and according to a 1989 study of historic sites in Wakefield, the house is "one of Wakefield's most imposing landmarks." The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

Staples-Crafts-Wiswall Farm United States historic place

The Deacon John Staples House is a historic house at 1615 Beacon Street in the village of Waban in Newton, Massachusetts.

Cuffe may refer to:

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. 1 2 NPS NHL listing info Archived 2009-06-06 at the Wayback Machine
  3. 1 2 "MACRIS inventory record for Paul Cuffe Farm". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
  4. "NHL nomination for Paul Cuffe Farm". National Park Service. Retrieved 2014-11-09.