{"nrhp_refnum":"88001458","name":"Rowell House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Gull Pond Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wellfleet","county":"Barnstable County","state":"MA","lat":41.95556537400006,"lon":-70.01264125799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-09-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-dwelling half cape house, built about 1731, on Gull Pond Road near Gull Pond in the northeast corner of Wellfleet, Massachusetts, on a 1.4-acre lot with a privy.","why_significant":"The house is an early and relatively rare surviving example of the three-bay half cape form, and the earliest extant half cape known in Wellfleet. It represents early settlement around the freshwater ponds near the Wellfleet-Truro line and its long association with local mariners. It also reflects Wellfleet's later shift to a seasonal resort community.","narrative":"Built around 1731 on Gull Pond Road in Wellfleet, this 1 1/2 story half cape sits in a small forested clearing between Gull Pond and the old King's Highway. It has a three-bay facade, a side entry, an interior end chimney, plank construction and a brick foundation. Its windows retain what appears to be original 9-over-6 sash. The house is the earliest known surviving half cape in Wellfleet, a modest form that was often built by new families or builders of limited means with later expansion in mind. It was probably first owned by the Newcomb family and later by mariners, which reflects the early inland pond settlement. Walter P. Rowell bought it in 1896 as a summer home, in keeping with Wellfleet's growth as a resort. Changes have been limited to new roof shingles, an added layer of wall shingles and some replaced floors and ceilings. A privy also survives. The property was listed for its architecture and local history.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1731-1938","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Colonial (Cape Cod half cape)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Well maintained and still occupied by members of the Rowell family; future use uncertain pending legal action to settle the estate.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:00.027011-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/7/7940/63794007/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/88001458.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88001458/feb3ca2221-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88001458/feb3ca2221-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Stina716","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rowell_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Stina716</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:Rowell_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794007","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowell_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14715835"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/barnstable-county/rowell-house-88001458/"}