Atwood-Higgins Historic District
Why it's listed
Set in one of the few clearings on remote Bound Brook Island in Wellfleet, this 24-acre district preserves a homestead begun around 1730. Its main building is a one-and-one-half-story, post-and-beam Cape Cod Cottage that grew from a half-cape into a full cape by 1805, with a west ell added by 1820 and a small addition by 1850. North of the house stand a barn, guest house, replica country store, woodshed, garage, summer house, wellhouse and three privies, along with the grounds and an archaeological site. In the early twentieth century, George K. Higgins of Brookline used the property as a summer estate. He restored the house to his idea of its historic appearance, built outbuildings around a central barnyard, installed water and plumbing systems, and laid out gardens, fences and drives. The district was listed in 1976 for the house alone; the expanded listing recognizes the whole estate, including Higgins's changes. It contains 13 contributing resources and no noncontributing ones.
Significance in brief: The house was first listed in 1976 as an early example of a Cape Cod Cottage on Lower Cape Cod. This amendment corrects the house's construction date and expands the listing into a district. It also recognizes Higgins's early-twentieth-century transformation of the homestead into an idealized Colonial farmstead and private recreational retreat.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 10000508, listed July 28, 2010. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Bound Brook Island Rd, Wellfleet |
|---|---|
| County | Barnstable County |
| Listed | July 28, 2010 |
| Reference number | 10000508 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Constructed by the Higgins family (house, c. 1730); outbuildings and landscape improvements by George K. Higgins |
| Architectural style | Colonial: Georgian; Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals: Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Historic - Non-Aboriginal, Exploration/Settlement |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Now part of Cape Cod National Seashore; current uses include museum and outdoor recreation. Most of Higgins's collected antiques and manuscripts have been removed and are in NPS storage. |
| Acreage | 24 |
| Coordinates | 41.95401, -70.05884 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 10000508.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.