Matthews Cape House

As with so many Wellfleet houses, this residence is no longer in its original location. Formerly on Briar Lane, it now perches discreetly above Route 6, where it was moved in 1949 when the highway was being created. It is a full Cape with Federal details, built in 1842 by Captain Isaiah Atkins Freeman (1809-1889), a Wellfleet mariner. (He and wife Sarah Newcomb Young raised 9 children in this home, of whom only three survived into adulthood.) Kathy and Joe Matthews have owned the home since 1983.

Enter through the side door, away from Route 6. Straight in front of you is the stairway to the attic. Take a peek at the steep attic stairs, and note on the right the original solid wall structure of cement and horsehair. The kitchen addition was originally an unfinished area used for canning. A pantry blocking the original sink was removed. Note the Elmira Stone Works appliances (stove and refrigerator) and complementary 1920s enamel table.

Proceed through to the dining room, the oldest part of the house, with beautiful wide-beam floors. On the wall is a painting of the house commissioned of renowned local artist Vincent Amicosante. A medical cabinet makes a great liquor storage area, and a Hoosier cabinet displays and stores china. The original kitchen was probably part of this room. On the table will be a photo album with pictures of the home at earlier times.

Two rooms off the dining room would originally have been the birthing room and a pantry. The northern room, probably the birthing room, was converted to a bathroom. The southern room, now used as a study/project room, probably had stairs descending to the root cellar of the original house. (The present house sits over a full basement.) Note the painting by local artist Jackson Taylor Vanhouten Kitson.

Proceed through to the living room, the original parlor. Observe the fancier wood trim, the original plaster ceiling, and built-in bookcases flanking the fireplace. This is the only functioning fireplace in the present home. Along the south wall are Kathy Matthews’ photos of local scenes. A wooden ship’s trunk contains games (take a peek and try to find the hidden drawers!). Lanterns decorating the mantelpiece are from a pier in New York City, and the ship’s model was purchased from a prison store. On the top shelf of the hutch is pottery by Peg Andre, whose shop is the old customs house on Commercial Street.

Take the staircase by the front door to view the upstairs bedrooms, probably the domain of the children. The north bedroom was originally two rooms, and the ceiling was raised when it was redone. In this room there is an antique bread chest. Notice the size of the exposed beams in the added bathroom, which would have been the end of the original house, but now there is a door leading into the unfinished attic of the kitchen addition (peek if you like).

Back down the stairs and to your right is the master bedroom. Over the former fireplace hangs a painting of Wellfleet village by children’s book author and illustrator Pat Sustendal. Kathy Matthews painted the ship on the bureau.

As you leave through the front door, notice the antique glass panels surrounding the doorway, and enjoy the gardens and the granite fountain.