The Smith Hoxie House
by Kaethe Maguire
A Sandwich treasure, the Smith Hoxie House (ca. 1675), shown above as it is today, is one of the oldest houses on Cape Cod and in fact one of the oldest surviving houses in Massachusetts.
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The saltbox house was built in the mid-seventeenth century and occupied around 1675 by Rev. John Smith, his wife Susanna and their 13 children. Smith served as pastor of the Separatist First Church of Sandwich from 1673 until 1689. He also served as a representative to the legislature and recommended tolerance of the Quakers, a religious minority in the area.
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In 1857, Abraham Hoxie, a whaling captain, purchased the property. The town of Sandwich acquired the home in the 1950s and restored the building which now serves as a museum.
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Below are photos of the house prior to its restoration which began in 1959.
The two images above were found in the Library of Congress/Historic American Buildings Survey. Significance: The Hoxie House is believed to be the oldest 17th century house on Cape Cod, according to Dr. Ernest Allen Connally, HABS Historian and Architect. The nucleus is supposed to date from 1637, however, George H. Sherwood, Boston architect in charge of restoration, dates the house around 1680. This is a two-and-one-half story salt-box house. - Survey number: HABS MA-739
George G. Sherwood of Boston, architect for the restoration; Henry T. Cook of the building committee, and builder Louis Masaschi stand in front of the Hoxie house in this photo by Robert H. Arnold. The three century old house on Shawme Pond in Sandwich is being repaired by the town and Sandwich Historical Society. Plans are to have it open for next summer, with period furnishings. Mr. Arnold's picture shows the heavy vertical pine siding. Mr. Masaschi and his men are starting by replacing the sills. Already they have found a room and a fireplace not previously known. On the committee for the restoration are Channing E. Hoxie, chairman, Gilbert Smith, George Sutton and William Russell Jr. - The Falmouth Enterprise August 29, 1959
The above images reveal the house before restoration. Middle left and bottom two photos courtesy of John Cullity.
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