April 9, 2006
Almy House Meeting
You are invited to attend a community meeting to discuss the Almy House on Wednesday, April 19 at 6:30PM at the Allen's Neck Friends Meeting House, 739 Horseneck Road, Dartmouth. Please RSVP with your plans to attend via email to lsughrue@waterfrontleague.org or call 508-997-1776.
The meeting is sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, WHALE, Dartmouth Historical Commission, Westport Historical Commission and Westport Historical Society.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 7, 2006
Contact: Lisa Sughrue, Executive Director Wendy Nicholas, Director
Peggi Medeiros, Dir. of Preservation National Trust for Historic
WHALE Preservation/Northeast Office.
508-997-1776/ 508-971-6344 cell 617-523-0885 x26
Community Invited to Public Meeting on Almy House
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, WHALE, Dartmouth Historical Commission, Westport Historical Commission, and Westport Historical Society invite the public to attend an open meeting on Wednesday, April 19 at 6:30PM at the Allen's Neck Friends Meeting House to discuss the Almy House on Horseneck Road in Dartmouth. The Almy House is slated for demolition after the demolition delay imposed by the Dartmouth Historical Commission expires in May. The house was built in the early 1700s, long before the creation of the nation, and is one
of the oldest homes remaining in the area. The property, known as Quansett Farm, was in the
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Almy family for nearly 300 years - from 1710 until it was sold in 2004 to Edward J. and Dale Lenzner Mathias of Washington, D.C.
Wendy Nicholas, Northeast Director for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, calls the Almy House “one of the most spectacular cultural landscapes in all of America”. Cultural landscapes include the historic buildings, stone walls, and the like, and the land on which they stand. “The Almy House,” said Nicholas, “is a treasure so significant to the towns of Dartmouth and Westport as well as the Commonwealth, that we need to make every effort to try to save it”.
The National Trust has been working with WHALE, Dartmouth Historical Commission, Westport Historical Commission and the Westport Historical Society to find alternatives to demolition with the owners of the property. In November 2005, the Dartmouth Historical Commission unanimously found the Almy House was historically significant and imposed a six month demolition delay, which expires on May 7, 2006.
Lisa Sughrue, Executive Director of WHALE, said “The 800 acres comprising Quansett Farm were originally purchased in 1710 by the first William Almy, one of founders of Dartmouth, who moved to Massachusetts from Rhode Island. His son, Job Almy, in the early 1700s built the Almy house known as “the mansion”. Historian Henry Howland Crapo in 1912 described it as “a splendid example of colonial architecture which has been perfectly preserved."
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Ms. Sughrue added, "The Almy House is historically significant not just because of its age, which alone makes it architecturally and historically significant, but also because the house
remained in the Almy family for more than 250 years and has connections to persons significant to our past. The history of Quansett Farm is the history of America”
Job Almy's direct descendant, William S. Almy, made the family fortune in textiles first in New Bedford and later in Boston. William S. Almy and his brother in-law, John Page, were personal friends of the famous American ornithologist, naturalist and painter John James Audubon, who often is regarded as America's greatest painter of birds. His Birds of America is one of the most important books ever published. His work is a landmark in art history and natural history. Almy was instrumental in selling numerous subscriptions for Audubon in this region of his folios depicting American birds and animals in their natural habitat. In August 1842 Audubon was a weekend guest at Quansett Farm, staying in the Almy House.
Locally, Audubon's impact is still felt today. The New Bedford Free Public Library, as a result of Audubon's sales to area families, owns two extraordinary treasures: Audubon's Elephant Folio and Quadripeds of North America. In 2003, five hundred acres of the original farm owned by the Almy's were sold to the Massachusetts Audubon Society creating the Allen's Pond Sanctuary and preserving one of Southeastern Massachusetts most important breeding grounds. Today, the property is a resting habitat and summer breeding ground for over 25 species of waterfowl and 35 shorebirds. It is perhaps the only Audubon Society land that John James Audubon ever actually stepped foot on.
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Originally a working farm, the Almy's property, Quansett Farm, became known as a center for thoroughbred horse and hound breeding in the mid nineteenth century. As the host for yearly hunts, Quansett Farm played a unique role in what became a Dartmouth tradition. Many famous people including General George Patton rode to the hunt on this property
Concerned residents should attend the public meeting on Wednesday, April 19 at 6:30PM at the Allen's Neck Friends Meeting House, 739 Horseneck Road in Dartmouth to learn about and discuss efforts to preserve the house. Everyone is welcome. Interested residents should RSVP to WHALE at 508-997-1776.
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