214 Pleasant Street history from Old Homes and Gathering PlacesYarmouth: Old Homes and Gathering Places 135
Eventually it was decided to sell the house and to
subdivide the land into building lots. On one of
these lots nearby, Ann Maxtone Graham built her
ideal house in a spot that has a view of the river
and the lovely patterns of the roof of the "Big
House:She lives there today with three little dogs
and a wealth of memories and stories to tell about
Bass River in earlier days.
214 Pleasant Street
c. 1670
Georgian
For the early history of this particular house, we
are fortunate to be able to quote directly from an
account written by Richard P. Hallowell II in 1949:
"The exact age of this house is uncertain, as the
original deeds were destroyed when the Barnstable
County Court House burned down in 1827. How-
ever, Weir Village, from where this house was moved
in 1926 to its present location, is one of the oldest
villages on the Cape." Mr. Hallowell purchased the
house in 1926 from Benjamin Homer and moved
it to land on Bass River deeded to him by his
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hallowell. Numerous
additions and alterations followed in the ensuing
years that have considerably changed its appearance.
Some of the old notable antique features that are
still visible are the old living room fireplace with
its delightfully non -level paneling and many of
the nine -over -six and six -over -six windows on
the first floor.
The Hallowells are not new to Bass River, as Frank's
parents had owned a house on River Street. One
of his sisters married F.S. Churchill, whose descen-
dants still own the River Street house.
222 Pleasant Street
c. 1825
On August 16, 1902, the Register reported that
"Mr. Spencer of Orange, New Jersey, has purchased
the house formerly owned and occupied by Mrs.
Dinah H. Thacher of South Dennis. It is being
moved to his lot adjoining Mrs. Mary Howes
River House." In her book Remodeled Farmhouses,
Mary H. Northend described the Thacher house as
it stood in South Dennis as "a typical Fisherman's
cottage, with a wide gabled roof sloping down to the
first story" Inside, the ground floor consisted of
four small rooms surrounding a central chimney.
The Spencers had the house flaked and moved to
Bass River. As was the case with most of the houses
that were moved in this period, no foundation
was prepared. The great sills were simply laid in
the sandy ground. The house was carefully placed
to face exactly south. Mary Northend praises the
changes that the Spencers made in the house to add
usable space and a sense of light and openness.
The Spencers were not the first to move here, but
many that came before were also from Essex County,
New Jersey, and it was because of that the
Spencers chose this spot where they summered
for more than thirty five years. Here there were
many friends along the river, and Mrs. Spencer's
sister, Mitty Kittredge, was close by at 170 Pleasant
Street. All these families represent the growing
tourist industry and increased summer population
early in this century.
228 Pleasant Street W D c, 1812
River House
Mary Nickerson Howes, widow of Isaiah Crowell
Howes and mother of Edith Howes Taylor (see
No. 5 Aunt Editlis Way), came to Cape Cod from
Orange, New Jersey, in 1899 with her three daughters
and her first four grandchildren, looking for a
summer home in South Yarmouth. She bought a
piece of land near Bass River and then purchased
a house on Old Main Street (then the County
Road) opposite the old store of R.J. Baker, near
where the present South Yarmouth Tennis Club is
today. At the time of the purchase, the house was
occupied by Captain Benjamin Bray, who had
distinguished himself in the 1860's and 1870's by
his command of the ship Comet.
The date of the original construction of the
house is believed to be during or shortly after the
War of 1812. A traditional full Cape, it was moved
all in one piece to its new site. Mrs. Howes was a
forward looking woman, for in those days people
thought it strange to want to live so near the river,
but for a summer home it seemed just right to
her. Word has it that she carefully supervised the
move, making sure the house was placed just so
on the lot so that she could look right down to
the mouth of the river from her window.
The present owners, now year-round residents, are
the fourth generation in direct descent from Isaiah
and Mary Howes. The house is beautifully and
lovingly restored, and thoroughly lived in by a
large, active family.