Historic Beachfront Chappaquiddick Home
With spectacular views to the pond and private beach, Katama Bay, Norton Point and the ocean, this sprawling seven-bedroom antique home is situated on five-plus acres of meadows and woodlands. It’s the ideal family retreat for swimming, boating or just relaxing.
The original half Cape has seen many changes over the years. Known as Maqua Downs, the home is thought to take its name from an Indian who once lived here. A small front porch leads to the front parlor with a large original fireplace. The left hand side of the space is now open but a change in the floorboards shows that it started as a separate room. An adjoining bathroom with a soaking tub allows this area to be used as a master bedroom.
Beyond is the living room with another fireplace and library to the left. There is evidence of hand-forged square nails in wide board flooring and pit-sawn wood that dates these front rooms to 1820-1850 although old newspaper articles suggest a date of 1810. A three-season porch opens to this room as well as the kitchen.
A spacious kitchen wing with wide board floors was added in the late 1800s and has its own fireplace. Recently renovated with all modern appliances and a U-shaped counter space, there is room for casual dining. Part of the kitchen renovation involved replacing the old posts and beams. “These had been constructed from the rough-hewn trunks of pine trees, bark and all,” the owner said. “My brother-in-law, who worked on that renovation, remembers seeing newspapers used as insulation and these dated to the 1800s.” In the rear a brick floored mudroom and laundry divide the space from a paneled sitting room/bedroom with bathroom.
Narrow stairs from the dining room lead to a spacious bedroom/sitting area with a water view. Light pours through two dormer windows probably added in the 1890s. There is also a separate bedroom and a full bath on this level.
In the late 1920s a summer cottage built c. 1905-1925 was moved, possibly from the Tom’s Neck area, and joined to the old house by a corridor. One of the previous owners recalled seeing the house roll down Chappaquiddick Road when she was a child. “The house rests on cinder blocks. It does not have a foundation and may never had one,” the owner says. “It was clearly a summer cottage since it was never insulated.” Here a first floor bedroom enjoys the water view and utilizes a large hall bathroom. Up a narrow staircase are two more bedrooms, one with a water view. This creates a perfect private space for family or guests.
A root cellar and crawl space under the oldest section of the house provide more information. Because of the scarcity of lumber and difficulty of getting to Chappaquiddick, houses are filled with repurposed material. Floor joists with notches from a previous use with large trunnels, wooden pegs used in timber frame construction, suggest that the beams may have been salvaged from a barn that could have dated to the 1700s. There is also evidence of timbers with hand chiseled adze marks that could be older than the house.
Because of the current owners’ respect for history and love for the house, they will move it to a different location if a new owner wants a new house and will discount the price by $400,000. “It has been the effort of our family to preserve, as well, structures, such as Maqua Downs, because they are structures that were build well over 100 years ago by individuals whose lives represented a slice of Vineyard history,” she said.
“The beauty of Maqua Downs for family vacations is its layout and the numerous nooks and crannies where children can play, while the grown-ups prepare meals in the large kitchen. We’ve had meals of upwards of 24 people, kids at one table, and adults at another,” she remembers. “I sometimes would look at my mother-in-law, now close to eighty, as she sat at the table surrounded by her children and grandchildren and could see her reminiscing of scenes similar to this one that had been a part of her childhood over seventy years ago, and had also been a part of her mother’s childhood over a hundred years ago.
“Our kids roamed from family house to family house. At least once a summer we organized a lobster bake on the bay, beach-steamed lobsters and corn on the cob in bay water over a fire we made with the driftwood the kids collected and later toasted marshmallows for s’mores. We waited for the sunset over Katama, wore sweatshirts when it got chilly and sat around the fire until it burnt low.”
In 1890 a Vineyard Gazette reporter visited Maqua Downs and declared “by the extent of piazzas, green country and delightful water views, we can imagine the quiet comfort and enjoyment which is theirs during the hot summer months.” And very little has changed.
The original half Cape has seen many changes over the years. Known as Maqua Downs, the home is thought to take its name from an Indian who once lived here. A small front porch leads to the front parlor with a large original fireplace. The left hand side of the space is now open but a change in the floorboards shows that it started as a separate room. An adjoining bathroom with a soaking tub allows this area to be used as a master bedroom.
Beyond is the living room with another fireplace and library to the left. There is evidence of hand-forged square nails in wide board flooring and pit-sawn wood that dates these front rooms to 1820-1850 although old newspaper articles suggest a date of 1810. A three-season porch opens to this room as well as the kitchen.
A spacious kitchen wing with wide board floors was added in the late 1800s and has its own fireplace. Recently renovated with all modern appliances and a U-shaped counter space, there is room for casual dining. Part of the kitchen renovation involved replacing the old posts and beams. “These had been constructed from the rough-hewn trunks of pine trees, bark and all,” the owner said. “My brother-in-law, who worked on that renovation, remembers seeing newspapers used as insulation and these dated to the 1800s.” In the rear a brick floored mudroom and laundry divide the space from a paneled sitting room/bedroom with bathroom.
Narrow stairs from the dining room lead to a spacious bedroom/sitting area with a water view. Light pours through two dormer windows probably added in the 1890s. There is also a separate bedroom and a full bath on this level.
In the late 1920s a summer cottage built c. 1905-1925 was moved, possibly from the Tom’s Neck area, and joined to the old house by a corridor. One of the previous owners recalled seeing the house roll down Chappaquiddick Road when she was a child. “The house rests on cinder blocks. It does not have a foundation and may never had one,” the owner says. “It was clearly a summer cottage since it was never insulated.” Here a first floor bedroom enjoys the water view and utilizes a large hall bathroom. Up a narrow staircase are two more bedrooms, one with a water view. This creates a perfect private space for family or guests.
A root cellar and crawl space under the oldest section of the house provide more information. Because of the scarcity of lumber and difficulty of getting to Chappaquiddick, houses are filled with repurposed material. Floor joists with notches from a previous use with large trunnels, wooden pegs used in timber frame construction, suggest that the beams may have been salvaged from a barn that could have dated to the 1700s. There is also evidence of timbers with hand chiseled adze marks that could be older than the house.
Because of the current owners’ respect for history and love for the house, they will move it to a different location if a new owner wants a new house and will discount the price by $400,000. “It has been the effort of our family to preserve, as well, structures, such as Maqua Downs, because they are structures that were build well over 100 years ago by individuals whose lives represented a slice of Vineyard history,” she said.
“The beauty of Maqua Downs for family vacations is its layout and the numerous nooks and crannies where children can play, while the grown-ups prepare meals in the large kitchen. We’ve had meals of upwards of 24 people, kids at one table, and adults at another,” she remembers. “I sometimes would look at my mother-in-law, now close to eighty, as she sat at the table surrounded by her children and grandchildren and could see her reminiscing of scenes similar to this one that had been a part of her childhood over seventy years ago, and had also been a part of her mother’s childhood over a hundred years ago.
“Our kids roamed from family house to family house. At least once a summer we organized a lobster bake on the bay, beach-steamed lobsters and corn on the cob in bay water over a fire we made with the driftwood the kids collected and later toasted marshmallows for s’mores. We waited for the sunset over Katama, wore sweatshirts when it got chilly and sat around the fire until it burnt low.”
In 1890 a Vineyard Gazette reporter visited Maqua Downs and declared “by the extent of piazzas, green country and delightful water views, we can imagine the quiet comfort and enjoyment which is theirs during the hot summer months.” And very little has changed.
Offered at $2,999,000
For more information, please contact:
Mark Jenkins
Wallace & Co. Sotheby’s International Realty
508-627-3313 • www.wallacemv.com
For more information, please contact:
Mark Jenkins
Wallace & Co. Sotheby’s International Realty
508-627-3313 • www.wallacemv.com