Hunter House (1748) is a historic house in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

. It is located at 54 Washington Street in the Easton's Point 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. 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 upper slope is positioned at a shallow angle, while the lower slope is steep. This design provides the advantages of a sloped roof while maxim ...

roof and heavy stud construction. In 1756, the property was sold to Colonel Joseph Wanton Jr., 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 Cr ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, 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 Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navy, navies. In the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general officer, general in the army or the air force. Admiral is r ...

, 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 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 National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

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 ...

, paintings (including one by

Gilbert Stuart Gilbert Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter born in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-k ...

), 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 ...

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 architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

with Corinthian

capitals Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

, 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