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~ HISTORIC SUMMARY ~
Regatta of Cotuit at The Crocker House.
Circa 1790.
1790 - President Adams was conducting the affairs of state in
Philadelphia, the French Revolution was less than a year old and
Roland Thatcher
Crocker was building the last of six family houses on the bend
of the Old Stage Road. Roland's grandfather, Ebeneezer, had begun
the "family village" in
1739 by dragging the first
building on a horse-drawn sled all the way from West Barnstable
to what is now the corner of Routes 130 & 28. Alvin Crocker,
Roland's father, then built what has become the Cahoon Museum of
American Art. Barret Antiques and Buckle Works, The Design Works
and Isiah Thomas Bookstore now round out the list of current
occupants of what was perhaps the first of Cape Cod's noted compounds.
Having returned from a career at sea, Roland was intent upon
settling down. He married one of
the Bacon girls from Barnstable's Bacon farm, put up the big Federal
home in which you are now dining and established the
town's first general store. The couple had no children, thus the
many rooms of their home became a natural place of
lodging for the drivers and guests that rode the Boston Stage.
A granite hitching post still stands outside the original
east side entrance. Among their guests was then Massachusetts
Senator Daniel Webster, an avid angler who often took the stage
down through Plymouth and Sandwich to fish for the salters (shrimp-fattened trout) of
the nearby "Mashpee" River.
The coach trade also led to the founding of Cotuit's first Post
Office - Mr. Roland Crocker, of course, serving as
its first Master. Further evidence of Mr. Crocker's industry can
be found in a storm shutter, discovered during restoration
in 1982 which now hangs behind the bar. It reads "W.I. & N.E." short
for West Indies and New England (Trading Company),
but clearly meant to attract the weary traveler with
more than a good meal and warm bed. Beneath the brand he listed "Rum,
Brandy, Gin and Wine". A storekeeper, bartender,
postmaster and no doubt teller of tall sea tales, Roland Thatcher
Crocker was certainly a man of many talents.
Following Roland's death, the stage coach inn was purchased by
a Captain Folger, who subsequently sold the property
to the Nickerson family. A local whisper has persisted over the
past 120 years concerning the two happy ghosts that
are said to remain from that time. It would seem that Mrs. Nickerson,
melancholy over her sacrifice of a promising career in opera, found
more than a little solace in the company of her husband's
valet. The enduring spirits of a warbling soprano and her ever-grinning butler
are in part attributed to how infrequently Mr. Nickerson was able
to come home from his travels abroad.
It is said that you might still hear the laughter as you enter
the restaurant through its fine Federal period front
door, which features graduated pillars. The entrance hall is equally
inviting with the "Good Morning" stairway
leading to the second floor and the entrance to the Adams Room
on the left, which was used as Cotuit's first public
library beginning in 1872. On the right you will find the entrance
to the Washington Room. Down the hallway to the right
is the Jefferson Room, the original kitchen. Behind the
Jefferson Room, in what was once the summer kitchen, is the cozy
Crocker
Room with its low beamed ceiling. To the left at the end of the hall is the Tap Room with
a beautiful oak bar, where you can enjoy a before and after dinner drink.
The Tap Room, Adams, Washington and Jefferson Rooms each
employ one of the eight fireplaces found in this Federal
twin-chimneyed Colonial. All construction is hand-pegged post and
beam, most visible in the bar
area where hurricane braces are also exposed as are the 18"-24" wide
pine planking of the floor above.
This fully restored home has recently been listed on the National
Registry of Historical Properties.
This honor comes not only out of recognition for its value as
a national treasure, but also serves as a reminder that we, like Roland Crocker, are the fortunate custodians
of a lasting piece of American
heritage.
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