Hunter House (1748) is a historic house in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

. It is located at 54 Washington Street in the

Easton's Point The Point (or less commonly, "Easton's Point") is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Newport, Rhode Island and has one of the highest concentrations of colonial houses in the United States. The neighborhood sits between Washington Street and F ...

neighborhood, near the northern end of the Newport Historic District.

History

The original portion of Hunter House was built in 1748 for Colonial Deputy Governor

Jonathan Nichols Jr. Jonathan Nichols Jr. (October 24, 1712 – September 8, 1756) was a deputy governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He was the son of former Deputy Governor Jonathan Nichols (Rhode Island politician), Jonathan Nichols Sr ...

This large 2½-story house has a balustraded

gambrel A gambrel or gambrel roof is a usually symmetrical two-sided roof with two slopes on each side. (The usual architectural term in eighteenth-century England and North America was "Dutch roof".) The upper slope is positioned at a shallow angle, w ...

roof and heavy stud construction. In 1756, the property was sold to Colonel

Joseph Wanton Jr. Joseph Wanton Jr. (1730–1780) was a Loyalist, merchant, Deputy Governor of Rhode Island in 1764 and 1767, and owner of Hunter House in Newport, Rhode Island. Early life and career Wanton was born to Governor Joseph Wanton and Mary Winthrop Wan ...

, who was a deputy governor of the colony and a merchant. Wanton enlarged the house by adding a south wing and a second chimney, transforming the building into a formal Georgian mansion with a large central hall. Wanton remained a

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, and General William West ordered him to be imprisoned in Providence and tried by the legislature. He ultimately fled Newport when the British left the city. Local legend has it that space was at a premium aboard British ships when Loyalists were fleeing Newport, but Wanton had his own ship filled with goods and merchandise in preparation for what he hoped would be a short exile. However, the captain of the ship set sail while Wanton was ashore bidding farewell to his wife and turned over the ship to the Patriots in Providence as a prize of war, thus gaining the captain and crew a share of the prize money while simultaneously depriving Wanton of his wealth. The house was then used as the headquarters of

Admiral de Ternay Charles-Henri-Louis d'Arsac, chevalier de Ternay (27 January 1723 – 15 December 1780) was a French naval officer. Most active in the Seven Years' War and the War of American Independence, Ternay was the naval commander of a 1762 expedition ...

, commander of the French fleet when French forces stayed in Newport in 1780. After the war, Senator and Ambassador William Hunter bought the house and transformed it into a formal

Georgian Colonial Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...

mansion with a large central hall. The house was purchased in 1945 to prevent its demolition, leading to the formation of the

Preservation Society of Newport County The Preservation Society of Newport County is a private, non-profit organization based in Newport, Rhode Island. It is Rhode Island's largest and most-visited cultural organization. The organization protects the architectural heritage of Newpor ...

, and it was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

on November 24, 1968. It is currently open for limited public tours. The house displays period furnishings by

Townsend and Goddard The Goddard and Townsend families of Newport lend their name to an extensive body of New England furniture associated with Newport, Rhode Island in the second half of the 18th century. Family of artisans The Townsend and Goddard families were t ...

, paintings (including one by

Gilbert Stuart Gilbert Charles Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter from Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-known work is an unfinished portrait of George Washi ...

), and a restored 18th-century garden. It is also known for its woodwork, including a carved pineapple over the doorway, a symbol of welcome throughout Colonial America. During the restoration, cabinetry that had been made in Newport was recovered from as far away as Scotland and installed in the house. Ralph Carpenter supervised the furniture restoration which includes "floor-to-ceiling paneling framed with bolection moldings, intricately twisted

baluster A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its cons ...

s on the stairs, eighteenth-century

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

tiles around many of the fireplaces,

pilasters In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall ...

with Corinthian

capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

, and marbleizing and grain painting throughout."

References

External links

Hunter HouseNational Historic Landmarks Program listing for Hunter House

Gallery

Image:Hunter House Newport Rhode Island.jpg, Hunter House from the water side File:Historic American Buildings Survey, George F.A. Palmer, Photographer, 1937 NORTHWEST ELEVATION. - Nichols-Wanton-Hunter House, 54 Washington Street, Newport, Newport County, RI HABS RI,3-NEWP,11-1.tif, Northwest Elevation, 1937 File:Historic American Buildings Survey, June, 1971 VIEW OF EXTERIOR ELEVATION FROM NORTHEAST. - Nichols-Wanton-Hunter House, 54 Washington Street, Newport, Newport County, RI HABS RI,3-NEWP,11-2.tif, Northeast Elevation, 1971 File:Historic American Buildings Survey, Jack Boucher, Photographer, June, 1971 VIEW OF SOUTHWEST ROOM FROM WEST. - Nichols-Wanton-Hunter House, 54 Washington Street, Newport, Newport HABS RI,3-NEWP,11-26.tif, Southwest room, 1971 File:Historic American Buildings Survey, George F.A. Palmer, Photographer, 1937 ARCH IN ENTRANCE HALL. - Nichols-Wanton-Hunter House, 54 Washington Street, Newport, Newport County, RI HABS RI,3-NEWP,11-7.tif, Entrance hall, 1937 File:Historic American Buildings Survey, photograph courtesy Hildegarde Storer, CUPBOARD IN NORTHEAST PARLOR. - Nichols-Wanton-Hunter House, 54 Washington Street, Newport, Newport HABS RI,3-NEWP,11-17.tif, Cupboard in northeast parlor {{National Register of Historic Places Georgian architecture in Rhode Island Historic house museums in Rhode Island Houses completed in 1748 Houses in Newport, Rhode Island Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island Museums in Newport, Rhode Island National Historic Landmarks in Rhode Island Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums National Register of Historic Places in Newport, Rhode Island Historic district contributing properties in Rhode Island

History

See also

References

External links

Gallery