{"nrhp_refnum":"76000155","name":"Penniman, Edward, House and Barn","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"S of Eastham at Fort Hill and Governor Prence Rds.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Eastham","county":"Barnstable County","state":"MA","lat":41.818583742000044,"lon":-69.96568586499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-05-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture","Maritime History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-a-half-story Second Empire frame house built in 1867 for whaling captain Edward Penniman, with a matching mansard-roofed barn to the rear, at Fort Hill and Governor Prence Roads in Eastham, Massachusetts, within Cape Cod National Seashore.","why_significant":"The house is described as a sumptuous whaling captain's home, historically called the finest house in Eastham. Its significance rests on its unusual appearance, with plans said to have been brought back from France by Penniman, and on being the only whaling captain's house in Eastham and the only one inside the Seashore boundaries.","narrative":"Built in 1867 on the south side of Fort Hill Road in Eastham, this Second Empire house was the retirement home of whaling captain Edward Penniman. Born in 1831, Penniman went to sea at eleven and sailed seven whaling voyages from New Bedford, to both southern and Arctic waters, and never lost a vessel under his command. The two-and-a-half-story frame house has clapboard walls, a mansard roof with richly detailed dormers, an octagonal cupola, and a front porch with Corinthian columns. It was painted yellow with white trim and a striped red roof. A matching three-floor barn stands to the southeast, built about 1800 and later altered to echo the house. The house is notable for its unusual design, said to be based on plans Penniman brought from France, and as the only whaling captain's house in Eastham and within the Seashore. Exterior restoration has been carried out, and the interior, including the captain's den, awaits further work.","period_of_significance":"19th Century","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Second Empire","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as fair and altered; preservation work in progress, with exterior restoration under way and interior restoration dependent on funding. Intended use is as a house exhibit.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.544222-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/97/7939/63793997/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/76000155.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000155/5be35a7ac5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000155/5be35a7ac5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Kenneth C. Zirkel","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Capt_Edward_Penniman_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Kenneth C. Zirkel</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Capt_Edward_Penniman_House.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"00001656","name":"Fort Hill Rural Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/fort-hill-rural-historic-district-00001656/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793997","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Penniman_House_and_Barn","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5344822"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/barnstable-county/penniman-edward-house-and-barn-76000155/"}