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Photograph of Paul Cuffe Farm
Photograph by Cortikal, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Cuffe, Paul, Farm

A National Historic Landmark. Built in 1780. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. A historic map-sheet match is not published yet. The record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary.

From the record

“The Paul Cuffe Farm is a National Historic Landmark on 1504 Drift Road in Westport, Massachusetts. The house was traditionally and incorrectly believed to be owned by Paul Cuffe (1759-1815), a prominent farmer and merchant of African American and Native American ancestry.”

Wikipedia article Paul Cuffe Farm, CC BY-SA 4.0.

one of 272 National Register listings in Bristol County · listed in 1974 · category: Building · built in 1780 · one of 8 National Historic Landmarks in Bristol County.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • National Historic Landmark. The highest federal designation, held by about 2,600 places in the country against roughly 100,000 Register listings.
  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Still standing. The Park Service records this property as extant.
  • Address. 1504 Drift Rd., Westport, 02790
  • When was it listed? 1974-05-30
  • Category. building
  • Township. Westport town
  • When was it built? 1780
  • National Register reference number. 74000394 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

The ground it stands on

119,038 words

The chapter on Westport Town in History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1883 names Westport. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

At the south end of the town of Westport lies a small harbor, at the mouth of Westport River, "fortunate in the natural position of its boundaries," and favorable for a good harbor, so situated that one of the boundaries of the harbor laps by the other so as to completely mislead one as to the entrance thereto. So complete is the deception that during the Revolutionary war it gained the name of the " Devil's Pocket-Hole," as vessels acquainted could enter, sail up the river a short distance, and drop their sails at the wharves of Westport Point, where only the masts could be seen, but no manner of admittance thereto; and such was the anger of the Britishers at being thus foiled of their prey that they, after cruising back and forth, in wrath would open fire upon the hamlets lying along the shore, and during one of these flurries the south side of the present dwelling of G. Frederic Davis was carried away by a shell from a vessel lying about half a mile off the shore, marks of which the ancient building carried till thoroughly renovated a few years since.

Passage source: History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1883.

Militia. - From 1664 until 1787, a period of one hundred and twenty-three years, the local militia of that section of country now Westport formed a part of the military forces of Dartmouth, which forces were, in 1667, by the Colonial Court ordered to submit to the orders of Sergt. James Shaw and Arthur Hatherway, who by the authority of the said court were appointed to exercise the men in arms in the town of Dartmouth. About six years later, viz., March 4, 1673, John Smith was appointed and commissioned lieutenant commandant of all the local militia of Dartmouth, and consequently of those residing within the limits of what subsequently became Westport. Lieut. Smith's subordinate officer was Jacob Mitchell, who was commissioned ensign-bearer.

Passage source: History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1883.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Westport Town - 119,038 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Fires near this property

26 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 26 fires within 5 miles of Cuffe, Paul, Farm between 2005 and 2020, burning about 18 acres in total. None started naturally. 5 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined12
Arson/incendiarism5
Debris and open burning4
Recreation and ceremony2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Fireworks1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
15 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
23 August 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
23 August 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
4 July 2018Fireworksunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
21 June 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
15 June 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
1 June 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
7 May 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.2 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named

Every fire recorded in Bristol County

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 1,799 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,799 specimens collected within 10 miles of Cuffe, Paul, Farm between 1824 and 1975: 826 Animalia, 663 Plantae, 157 Fungi, 141 Chromista, 8 Bacteria, 4 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by 99121, A. B. Gridley, A. B. Hervey and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
A photograph of the species Gamochaeta purpurea, not of this specimenGamochaeta purpurea (L.) Cabrera1824T. A. Greene
A photograph of the species Lythrum salicaria, not of this specimenLythrum salicaria L.1831T. A. Greene
A photograph of the species Mentha aquatica, not of this specimenMentha aquatica L.1831Collector unknownNew Bedford. [Inferred county from precise loc.]
A photograph of the species Bangia fuscopurpurea, not of this specimenBangia fuscopurpurea (Dillwyn) Lyngbye1846IllegibleSauconnet Point, RI
A photograph of the species Ptilota elegans, not of this specimenPtilota elegans Bonnemaison1846none seenSauconnet Point, Little Compton, RI
A photograph of the species Ahnfeltia plicata, not of this specimenAhnfeltia plicata (Huds.) Fr.1851G. W. FahnstockSeaconnet
A photograph of the species Ceramium rubrum, not of this specimenCeramium rubrum C.Agardh1854M. E. FahnestockSeaconnet
A photograph of the species Ceramium strictum, not of this specimenCeramium strictum (Kütz.) Rabenh., 18471854Mary E. FahuestockSeaconnet
A photograph of the species Champia parvula, not of this specimenChampia parvula (C.Agardh) Harv.1854Mary E. FahuestockSeaconnet
A photograph of the species Chondria baileyana, not of this specimenChondria baileyana Montagne1854M. E. FahuestockSeaconnet, RI
A photograph of the species Chordaria flagelliformis, not of this specimenChordaria flagelliformis (O.F.Müll.) C.Agardh1854M. E. FahuestockSeaconnet
A photograph of the species Cladophora refracta, not of this specimenCladophora refracta (Roth) Kütz.1854Mary E. FahuestockSeaconnet

All 1,799 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Cuffe, Paul, Farm: 4 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Clearwater Stone IncStonePast Producer
Boan Farm PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Clearwater Pit and PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Dartmouth Town PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Medeiros Washed Sand & Stone PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Bristol County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

3 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Cadman--White--Handy House1.9 miles1992
Russell Garrison6.6 miles2018
Hill School7.1 miles1980

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 74000394 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Bristol CountyAll 272 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.