Townsend House (Wellfleet, Massachusetts)

Last updated
Townsend House
Townsend House, Wellfleet MA.jpg
Townsend House
USA Mass Cape Cod location map.svg
Red pog.svg
USA Massachusetts location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Wellfleet, Massachusetts
Coordinates 41°54′42″N70°0′38″W / 41.91167°N 70.01056°W / 41.91167; -70.01056 Coordinates: 41°54′42″N70°0′38″W / 41.91167°N 70.01056°W / 41.91167; -70.01056
Built1804
NRHP reference No. 98000542 [1]
Added to NRHPMay 20, 1998

The Townsend House is a historic house at 290 Paine Hollow Road in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. The 1+12-story full Cape style wood-frame house was built in 1804, probably by Doctor James Townsend, whose descendants owned the house well into the 20th century. The most notable resident was Samuel Campbell, an English engineer who worked with Guglielmo Marconi on the transatlantic wireless facilities in Wellfleet. The house is notable as a particularly little-altered example of the style, with details typically only found in houses of wealthier owners. [2] The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. [1]

Contents

Description and history

The Townsend house is set on the southwest side of Paine Hollow Road, between it and Blackfish Creek, a tidal waterway on Wellfleet's west coast. It is a 1+12-story wood-frame structure, five bays wide, with a central chimney, side-gable roof, and brick foundation. It is clapboarded on two sides and shingled on the other two. Its entrance is centered on the southeaster facade, and is flanked by pilasters and topped by a transom window and cornice. The interior has a typical center-chimney configuration, with narrow staircases in front of and behind the chimney, chambers to either side, and the kitchen occupying most of the rear, with small chambers in the rear corners. The interior ceilings are higher than those typically found in period Capes, and the front stairs are wider than usual, both signs of the owner's wealth and status. A single-story flat-roofed ell, built in 1988 extends to the southwest. The interior has retained much of its original woodwork and hardware. The property includes two 19th-century outbuildings, a privy and a shed that once served as a summer kitchen. [2]

The house was built in 1804 by James Townsend, a local doctor who had just married. Townsend died in 1812, and his wife remarried and moved away, but the house remained within the family until the 20th century. In the early 20th century it was purchased by Samuel Campbell, an employee of Guglielmo Marconi who was employed at the Marconi station located in South Wellfleet. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Brandeis House</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Louis Brandeis House is a National Historic Landmark on Judges Way, a private way off Stage Neck Road in Chatham, Massachusetts. It stands on a neck of land near the Oyster Pond River. It received its landmark designation in 1972 as the principal summer residence of Louis Brandeis, an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, who summered here from 1922 until his death in 1941.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Ward House (Salem, Massachusetts)</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The John Ward House is a National Historic Landmark at 9 Brown 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinckley's Corner Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Hinckley's Corner Historic District, also known as Paine Hollow, is a historic district including three properties located at 0, 25, and 40 Way #112 in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. This small cluster of properties are a representative of the outer Cape's life in the 19th century. All three houses are fairly utilitarian 1-1/2 story Cape style houses, with only modest traces of late Georgian or Federal styling. The oldest house, the Jonathan Young House at 40 Way #112, was built c. 1790-91, and was owned for a significant portion of the 19th century by members of the Hinckley family. This property includes a 19th-century barn, a c. 1920 structure whose uses have included a retail store and an art studio, and a c. 1950 garage. The John Lewis House at 25 Way #112 was built c. 1820, and has a Federal style fanlight over the main entrance. Its property includes a garage/guesthouse built c. 1924, originally to house a Model T firetruck, and an oysterhouse built 1827-28.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saunders–Paine House</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Saunders–Paine House is a historic house at 260 Paine Hollow Road in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. This 1+12-story Federal style Cape was built c. 1830, and is a well-preserved local example of the style. The first known owner was Charles Saunders who married Mary Cole Paine, whose family gave the area its name. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hall's Tavern (Cheshire, Massachusetts)</span> United States historic place

Hall's Tavern is a historic tavern at 41 North Street in Cheshire, Massachusetts. Built in 1804, it is a prominent local example of Federal period architecture, and an important local meeting place in the 19th century. Now a private residence, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purchase-Ferre House</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Purchase-Ferre House is a historic house at 1289 Main Street in Agawam, Massachusetts. Built in 1764, it is one of a small number of surviving 18th-century houses in the town. It has been in the hands of the Ferre family since 1799, and is little-altered since then. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Hardy House</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Joseph Hardy House is a historic late First Period house in Groveland, Massachusetts. Built about 1720 with plank frame construction, it is a relatively rare example of that form in the region. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Yeomans House</span> Historic house in Connecticut, United States

The Edward Yeomans House is a historic house on the waterfront of Palmer Cove on Brook Street in the Noank section of Groton, Connecticut. With its construction dating to 1713, it is believed to be Noank's oldest surviving structure, built by one of its early settlers. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 22, 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Tarr House</span> Historic house in Maine, United States

The John Tarr House is an historic house at 29 Ferry Lane in Biddeford, Maine. Built about 1730, it is one of the oldest houses in the state of Maine, with a well-preserved interior that has unusual features. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Thayer House</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Benjamin Thayer House is a historic house at 200 Farm Street in Blackstone, Massachusetts. Built around 1790, it is the best-preserved property associated with the Thayer family, who were prominent landowners and one of the first Pilgrim families. Benjamin Thayer and his descendants lived and farmed here until about 1920, when the property, much reduced in size, was sold out of the family. The house and its surrounding 9 acres (3.6 ha) of surviving farmland was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manning-Ball House</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Manning-Ball House is a historic house at 370 Manning Street in Jefferson, a village of Holden, Massachusetts. It is estimated to have been built c. 1790, and is a well-preserved vernacular four-bay Cape style house. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 13, 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howe-Quimby House</span> Historic house in New Hampshire, United States

The Howe-Quimby House is a historic house on Sugar Hill Road in Hopkinton, New Hampshire. Built about 1780, it is a well-preserved example of a rural 18th-century farmhouse with later stylistic modifications. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McClure-Hilton House</span> Historic house in New Hampshire, United States

The McClure-Hilton House is a historic house at 16 Tinker Road in Merrimack, New Hampshire. The oldest portion of this 1+12-story Cape style house was built c. 1741, and is one of the oldest surviving houses in the area. It was owned by the same family for over 200 years, and its interior includes stencilwork that may have been made by Moses Eaton Jr., an itinerant artist of the 19th century. The property also includes a barn, located on the other side of Tinker Road, which is of great antiquity. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paine Neighborhood Historic District</span> Historic district in Maine, United States

The Paine Neighborhood Historic District of Standish, Maine encompasses a small collection of rural properties that were all developed within a short period of time by members of the Paine family. Included are three late 18th-century houses and the family cemetery. The area provides a view of early settlement patterns in Maine's interior. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blossom House</span> Historic house in Maine, United States

The Blossom House is a historic house museum on Main Street in Monmouth, Maine. Built about 1808, it is a well-preserved example of a Federal period Cape style house. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, and now serves as a museum for the local historical society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phineas Thurston House</span> Historic house in Vermont, United States

The Phineas Thurston House is a historic house on Old Silo Road in Barnet, Vermont. Built about 1787, it is one of the oldest surviving houses in northeastern Vermont, and one of the best-preserved early houses in Barnet. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whittier House (Danville, Vermont)</span> Historic house in Vermont, United States

The Whittier House is a historic house on Greenbanks Hollow Road in Danville, Vermont. Built in 1785, it is significant as one of the town's oldest surviving buildings, and as an example of a gambrel-roofed Cape, a style rare in northern Vermont but common to Essex County, Massachusetts, where its builder was from. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capt. Philo Beardsley House</span> Historic house in Connecticut, United States

The Captain Philo Beardsley House is a historic house on Beardsley Road in Kent, Connecticut. Built about 1780, it is a well-preserved example of an 18th-century saltbox, with a remarkably well-preserved interior. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roderick Bryan House</span> Historic house in Connecticut, United States

The Roderick Bryan House is a historic house at 867 Linkfield Road in Watertown, Connecticut. Built about 1820, it is a well-preserved example of a rural Cape style farmhouse. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shelley House (Madison, Connecticut)</span> Historic house in Connecticut, United States

The Shelley House is a historic house at 248 Boston Post Road in Madison, Connecticut. Probably built in the late 17th century and enlarged in the 18th century, this house's architecture clearly exhibits a typical growth pattern of colonial-era houses from a one-room stone ender to a saltbox house. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 "MACRIS inventory record and NRHP nomination for Townsend House". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2014-02-22.