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One Centre Street Inn |
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| The Old King’s Highway winds a graceful route through the Center of Yarmouth Port like a gently meandering river. Along this route lie dozens of historic and intriguing antique homes, each with its own story to tell. Many of those homes were once the property of wealthy sea captains whose homes’ grandeur and presence were and are testimony to their success on the open seas. |
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| But not every home on Captain’s Row share’s this maritime legacy. Many of what are today great private homes and inns were once taverns, or homes to merchants and prominent local citizenry. Important among that group is the former parsonage of the First Congregational Church of Yarmouth Port – a home today operating as the One Centre Street Inn. |
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Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, this Greek Revival structure was constructed in approximately 1824 and has been in business as an Inn on and off for the last 50 years. Before it was an inn, the home’s role as a parsonage had long given it a place of importance in the community as weary traveling pastors would find it a convenient stop-over on their travels down the Cape. | ||
| The home’s original owner was Elisha Doane, known as Squire Doane, who was, for a time, the wealthiest man in Massachusetts. He owned shares in numerous sailing vessels and operated the Doane Tavern which is just a few doors down the road. Upon his death, Squire Doane left the home to the First Congregational Church, at which time it became the parsonage. The home’s current owners, Innkeepers Robert and Carla Masse, are working hard to preserve and restore the home while trying to preserve as much of the original home as possible. Throughout the house, they have applied historic colors and styles to help ensure that the feel and look of the home is authentic. The many guest rooms are carefully decorated in ways that reflect the time of the home’s origin while offering a good deal more comfort than our forefathers enjoyed. As an Inn, the home also provides guests with the most modern conveniences including high-speed internet access.
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Period details abound with unusual cornice work and wood trim in the main rooms which feature 10 foot ceilings. Like many homes of the era, One Centre Street Inn was added to over the years with fascinating results for old home aficionados. Occasionally narrow stairs, winding corridors and “secret” spaces all add to the homes luster of history. The basement still features an original circular “Cape Cod basement” – most likely a root cellar in its time. | ||
| The careful restoration and esteemed history of the home provide a link to the past that any visitor will appreciate. If you sit quietly in its rooms, you can almost feel the presence of the visitors and residents of long ago. Look closely at the pair of photos below and notice the woman in the upper window. Who was she? What was she thinking? Why didn’t she come outside for the photograph? No one can say who she is or why she was in the window on that day, but her presence in the photo, and the gracious ambiance of the Inn today, provide charming links to a time past, but never forgotten. | |||
 One Centre Street Inn ca. 1900 |
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