Anawan Club Clubhouse and Caretaker's House
Why it's listed
Set well back from the road beside Bad Luck Reservoir (Warren Upper Reservoir) in Rehoboth, the Anawan Club occupies woodland first bought in 1898 by a group of Rhode Island businessmen for hunting and social gatherings. Membership was capped at forty. The clubhouse, built that year, is a one-story log building with a large single room, two massive fieldstone end chimneys, a rear service ell and a front porch facing the water. Its cedar logs were cut from an adjacent swamp and hewn by hand. It is regarded as a locally unique example of the log cabin type found in northern New England hunting camps, and as the only known local precedent for later log cabin homes. Nearby, the caretaker's house, dating to about 1750-1770 and bought by the club in 1898, is a five-bay, center-chimney Georgian cottage that keeps original panelling, doors and hardware. The club has kept its land as woodland, preserving the historic landscape.
Significance in brief: The clubhouse is described as a unique and outstanding local example of the vernacular log cabin form used in northern New England hunting and logging camps. The caretaker's house is a well-preserved, largely unaltered Georgian-period cottage. Together with the club's preserved woodland, they reflect turn-of-the-century social ideals and the view of Rehoboth as semi-wilderness.
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 83000618, listed June 6, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 13 Gorham St., Rehoboth |
|---|---|
| County | Bristol County |
| Listed | June 6, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83000618 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Log cabin (clubhouse); Georgian (caretaker's house) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Entertainment/Recreation, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The club has operated continuously since 1898; the clubhouse is a private club and the caretaker's house is a residence, still serving as a caretaker's house. The clubhouse has no major alterations. |
| Acreage | 50 |
| Coordinates | 41.82682, -71.22318 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
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 83000618.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4752417
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.