Historical Paintings of Woods Hole and Falmouth by F. L. Gifford
Naushon House, about 1845
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This building (27) was erected in 1700. During the revolution it was known as Joseph Parker's Tavern, said to be a favorite rendezvous for British soldiers. Somewhat later it was owned by John Webster and called "Webster House" from whose hands it passed to Mr. Hopkins who operated it as "The Nobska Inn", and then to Mr. Blossom who maintained the hotel as "Naushon House" until it burned in August 1858.
It is said that the statesman, Daniel Webster, used to stop at Webster House for a few days at a time during the years around 1833. Mr. Webster had a boat named "Wave" in which Timothy Sanford, then a boy of seven, used to go fishing with Mr. Webster.
The stagecoach in front of the tavern ran between Woods Hole and Boston by way of Sandwich and Plymouth. The tavern stable and carriage shed (26) are on the right. At the right, looking south, is Captain Calvin Child's house (44) and on the right is the U. S. Lighthouse Service buoy yard (now the U. S. Coast Guard Base), established about 1845. The sloop at the wharf was named "Active" and was a buoy setter under the command of Captain Benjamin Edwards.
The text above is from Historical Paintings of Woods Hole, by Franklin Lewis Gifford (Woods Hole Public Library, 1962). The numbers in parentheses refer to Gifford's "Map of Woods Hole as of 1845," which you can see by clicking here.