Newport, RI - Hunter House

Hunter House, Newport

The original part of Hunter House was built in 1748 for Deputy Governor Jonathan Nichols, Jr on its present site at 54 Washington Street.

Colonel Joseph Wanton, bought the house in 1756. He was Deputy Governor of Rhode Island in 1764 & 1767. He added a south wing & a second chimney giving the house the look of a more formal Georgian mansion.

Wanton was imprisoned during the American Revolution as he remained commited to the loyalist cause. He probably died in New York City after he fled Newport, as there is a 1780 record for a Colonel Wanton in the churchyard of the Trinity Wall Street Church in Manhattan. After the war Senator William Hunter bought the house.

The house was due to be demolished in 1945, but was bought by what became the Preservation Society of Newport County. While the house remains a work in progress, it is a fascinating place to visit.

The original part of Hunter House was built in 1748 for Deputy Governor Jonathan Nichols, Jr on its present site at 54 Washington Street.

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