HISTORIC HOME FEATURE: WINSLOW CROCKER HOUSE

The first thing to know is that the Winslow Crocker House is not actually in Brewster, it's in Yarmouth Port on historic Route 6A (Old King's Highway). Today it is operated by Historic New England and is open seasonally for tours. 

Why It's Special

The house was built around 1780 by Winslow Crocker, a merchant, trader, and Revolutionary War-era privateer. While the exterior looks like a classic Georgian Cape house, the interior is surprisingly elegant for 18th-century Cape Cod, with rich wood paneling, large rooms, and refined details that would have been unusual in a region dominated by farms and fishing villages. 

The Amazing Part

In the 1930s, a remarkable Cape Cod preservationist named Mary Thacher literally saved the house.

She had it moved about six miles down Route 6A, beam by beam, from West Barnstable to its present location beside her ancestral home. She then lovingly restored and furnished it with an impressive collection of early American antiques. 

Imagine moving an entire 1780 house down the road before modern moving equipment! (We can imagine Devon doing that if she lived in the 18th century!)

What You'll See Inside

The house feels almost like stepping into a living history book.

Highlights include:

• Period rooms filled with antique furniture 

• Beautiful wood paneling 

• Hooked rugs 

• Ceramics and pewter 

• Furnishings representing styles from Jacobean and William & Mary through Queen Anne and Chippendale

The Winslow Crocker House is one of Cape Cod's best-kept secrets. It offers visitors a rare glimpse into early New England life, complete with period furnishings, rich woodwork, and the fascinating story of a woman who saved an entire historic home by moving it, board by board, to its present location.

It is exactly the kind of place that rewards curiosity, quiet, beautiful, and filled with stories. The exact kind of place Devon wants you to know about.