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Rare 1682 English-style home asks $600K

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Over three hundred years of history

A rare home from 1682 sits on green grassy surrounded by bright green trees. The shingle-style home features a center brick chimney, white-framed windows, and a bright blue door trimmed in white. Photos by Holly Sullivan at Planomatic

In the U.S, the historic homes we cover as part of Curbed’s House of the Day series are often 19th-century Victorians or even midcentury masterpieces. Unlike in Europe, it’s rare to find a listing that is several hundreds of years old.

But that’s the case with this four-bedroom, four-bath home located near the Cape Cod Bay, a little over an hour south of Boston. Called the Tobey House, this rare “First Period” home was constructed in approximately 1682 as a single-story, two-room Cape with a loft. The home has gone through a number of changes and additions, but period features remain. The listing also sits on its original location; many historic homes were moved over the centuries.

Most notable are the home’s original massive fireplace and colonial hall and parlor, likely built to honor the wedding of the first owners. Other features include gunstock corner posts, 17th-century doors and hardware, and built-in cupboards. In the mid-18th century, the house was expanded to include two first-floor rooms and a pair of second-floor rooms with Federal-style fireplaces. A new kitchen, storage area, and barn were added in the 19th century.

A careful renovation took place in 2013 to try to restore the Tobey House’s charm and authenticity. Projects included removing the lead paint, restoring the original oak and pine flooring, repairing plaster walls with historically accurate colors, and re-glazing and re-installing the windows.

Eager to own a piece of history? 44 Water Street is on the market now for $600,000.

A historic shingle-style home sits on green grassy. The home is gray with white-trimmed windows, bright blue doors, and multiple tall stone fireplaces.
Another view of the exterior shows the additions.
A colonial parlor consists of wood pine floors, a large historic fireplace on the left, white walls, exposed beams, and a simple chair and couch.
Two of the most notable original features are the colonial parlor and large fireplace.
Two leather couches sit in front of a wooden coffee table, on a rug with pine floors. Brick walls are interrupted by windows.
The home underwent multiple additions and expansions over its 300-plus year history.
A living room features an exposed beam, fireplace, white walls, pine floors, a coffee table, and various couches and armchairs.
In total, the property now boasts five fireplaces.
A dining room features a wooden table with seating for six, wood floors, yellow walls, and light blue trim for the doors, windows, and wainscoting.
Part of the renovation in 2013 included using historically accurate paint colors, like this light blue and yellow.
A colonial-style bedroom features a wrought-iron bed with blue and white quilt, a rocking chair, rug, and white walls.
One of the four bedrooms in the home.