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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Dr. Antone Vieira and Dr. Maria Da Gloria Mulcahy will present a program
"The Portuguese Pioneers of Westport" on Thursday, April 20th at 7:30 P. M.
at the Bell Schoolhouse, 25 Drift Road Head of Westport. The program is
sponsored by the Westport Historical Society.
Many Westport families have Portuguese origins. Tony Vieira and Maria Da
Gloria Mulcahy will present findings from their research into the
Portuguese of Westport. During this project, they interviewed many local
individuals about their family life, property and profession, and also
used census records to track some the earliest Portuguese immigrants in
Westport to their living descendants.
Dr. Antone Vieira is from a third generation Portuguese farming family
with a long tradition of serving the interests of the Westport
community. He received a master's degree in educational administration
from Bridgewater State College and a doctorate in education from UMass
Amherst. He is currently the Executive Director for Corporate Programs
and Partnerships at UMass Dartmouth and has served the Town of Westport
in many capacities.
Dr. Maria Da Gloria Mulcahy is a sociologist with a particular interest
in the adjustment of Portuguese immigrants to the United States. She
received a doctorate in sociology from Brown University and now teaches
at Bristol Community College and Connecticut College. She is currently
writing a book on the Portuguese immigrants of Westport.
Admission is free, but donations will be gladly accepted. Refreshments
will be provided. Please call the Historical Society at 508-636-6011
for reservations so that we can plan accordingly.