National Register of Historic Places

Stetson House

Hanover, Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Listed
September 6, 1979
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
79000366

About this property

The Stetson House is a historic house at Hanover Street in Hanover, Massachusetts. The 2+1⁄2-story frame house was built c. 1694 by Samuel "Drummer" Stetson and was occupied by the Stetson family until at least the 1860s. During the 19th century the family opened the house for religious services after the church burned down. In the Common room there is a large fireplace (one of six in the house) and a Yule log that was lit for good luck on Christmas but was never allowed to burn all the way. At the church, if you fell asleep a person would tickle you with a feather attached to a tithing rod. It was above the fireplace. A grandfather clock made by John Bailey and given to the Stetson house was too big to fit in the house so they had to cut a depression in the floor. The mother Stetson sometimes baked pies in the deep oven and at about 4:00pm called the children to supper. People donated furniture for the Music Room. Also in the Music room there is a portrait of John Barstow and his wife Betsy Ellen. Four front windows have special glass, each with 24 panes. The dining room is not used often, only on special occasions like Christmas or Thanksgiving. The doors between the rooms were made crooked on purpose so that they would close by themselves and not let the heat out. Most of the rooms were not heated and foot warmers were used in the winter. The Stetson House now acts as a museum for the town of Hanover, with its rooms being dedicated to the towns agricultural, manufacturing, maritime, and military histories. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and included in the Hanover Center Historic District in 1996. National Register of Historic Places listings in Plymouth County, Massachusetts

Location

Hanover, Plymouth County, Massachusetts
42.11621, -70.84367

Categories

ARCHITECTURESOCIAL HISTORY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Hanover Center Historic District
Listed
0.1 mi
Tack Factory, The
Industrial
1.9 mi
Pembroke Friends Meetinghouse
Industrial
2.2 mi
Stetson-Ford House
Industrial
3.1 mi
Rockland Almshouse
Industrial
3.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Stetson House listed on the National Register?

Stetson House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 6, 1979.

What type of historic resource is Stetson House?

Stetson House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Stetson House?

The period of significance for Stetson House is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Stetson House?

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