In the mid-1800s, Rockport, Massachusetts was best-known as one of the main ports for the quarrying and shipping of fine granite up and down the east coast of the United States. While the rocky coastline made granite a prime industry, the natural scenery also made the coastal areas desirable for residential development. While many of the coastal developments here never took-off as they did in nearby Gloucester, Magnolia, and Beverly, there are some notable summer colonies that sprouted up! In 1855, Eben B. Phillips an oil dealer in Boston, purchased undeveloped wooded lots and pastures, and slowly began to lay out roads and survey for developable lots for summer cottages on a peninsula near Pigeon Cove. The development was named “Oceanview” and it was marketed as the extreme point of Cape Ann. Development was very slow to materialize, and started in earnest in the 1870s. Eben Phillips built this summer cottage before 1877 (possibly as early as 1850), where he would spend summers until his death in 1879. The cottage retains much of its original character and is a rare survivor of the rustic style cottages which were built before the phase of larger Shingle and Queen Anne residences were built in later decades.
Buildings of New England 
Holy smokes! That’s our house! We tried to not change anything on the outside but the garage which could not fit a model T had to get bigger.
Our deed and Rockport assessors claim Eben built it in 1850 just six years after Motif #1 was built with the same board and batten.
That photo was taken summer 2023 in the middle of the drought. The grass is a tad greener today. 🙂
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Wow I am glad you found the post! The dates were hard to come by so having the 1850 date is really helpful. I will edit the post accordingly. You’re definitely a great steward of this significant home!
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David Platt, a previous owner and carpenter who built the shop between the house and the garage dated the house to 1877 and that is what he put on the porch sign. But the Town of Rockport assessed Eben for a cottage starting in 1850 so I like to go with the older date.
A few years ago Sue wanted the shower removed from the kitchen so that kitchen update showed the flooring where the wood burning stove sat. Really surprised the house did not go up in flames back then but I guess that happened to Linwood Hotel at the end of the street and a few other places.
I thought I would miss taking a shower while making morning coffee but I got over it. 🙂
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Love this! The date appears to be correct to around the 1870s from what I hear, but maybe the town historian has other maps to help fill in the blanks.
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