National Register of Historic Places

Wilson, Capt. John, House and Bates Ship Chandlery

Cohasset, Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Listed
December 27, 2002
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
02001614

About this property

The Capt. John Wilson House and Bates Ship Chandlery are historic buildings at 4 Elm Street in Cohasset, Massachusetts. They are now owned by the Cohasset Historical Society. Open in the summer, the Captain John Wilson House is now a historic house museum, and the Chandlery houses displays about the town's maritime heritage. They were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. The two buildings are located in Cohasset's downtown village area, on the north side of Elm Street near its junction with Main Street. They share a single lot, fronted by a garden and picket fence, with exposed ledge rising to the rear. The Wilson House is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame building, four bays wide, with a side-gable roof, end chimneys, and clapboard siding. It has Federal period styling, including a front entry surround with pilasters and a dentillated cornice. A shingled shed-roof addition (c. 1830) extends to the rear, giving the house a saltbox profile. The interior is organized with a three-bay main room on the right, and a single-bay unfinished space on the left. A large fireplace projects into the main chamber, with a narrow staircase behind it providing access to the second floor. The house was built about 1810 by David Nicholas, a local housewright, during a minor building boom, and was soon afterward sold to Captain John Wilson. Wilson supposedly operated a chandlery in the house, in addition to his career operating ships out of Cohasset Harbor. The house remained in the Wilson family until 1912, and was then adapted for commercial uses. In 1936 it was given to the Cohasset Historical Society. The chandlery, located east of the house, is a two-story frame structure, with a hip roof and clapboard siding. The building was originally located opposite Bates Wharf on the waterfront, and was moved to its present location in 1957. It was built in 1754, and is the best-preserved remnant of Cohasset's early maritime history. National Register of Historic Places listings in Norfolk County, Massachusetts

Location

4 Elm St.
Cohasset, Norfolk County, Massachusetts
42.23385, -70.80056

Categories

ARCHITECTURECOMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENTCOMMERCEMARITIME 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

Lothrop, Caleb, House
Industrial
0.3 mi
Pratt Historic Building
Industrial
0.3 mi
Government Island Historic District
Listed
0.7 mi
Cohasset Common Historic District
Listed
0.7 mi
Cohasset Central Cemetery
Colonial
0.9 mi

Questions about this property

When was Wilson, Capt. John, House and Bates Ship Chandlery listed on the National Register?

Wilson, Capt. John, House and Bates Ship Chandlery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 27, 2002.

What type of historic resource is Wilson, Capt. John, House and Bates Ship Chandlery?

Wilson, Capt. John, House and Bates Ship Chandlery is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Wilson, Capt. John, House and Bates Ship Chandlery?

The period of significance for Wilson, Capt. John, House and Bates Ship Chandlery is recorded as the listed era.

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