The 1795 Harris - Black House Brewster, MA

To our knowledge, of the many small early houses believed to have existed throughout Cape Cod, only one has survived. Located on Red Top Road in Brewster, MA, this dwelling was occupied from 1795 to 1904 by the Harris Black family. It was subsequently used as a storeroom for cranberries and a small forge for the repair of farm implements. The one story frame structure measuring fifteen feet to the rooftop and sixteen feet square comprised of a single room, a tiny pantry, and a sleeping loft overhead. The entire family lived and worked in this space. The Harris - Black House was rebuilt on Brewster Historical Society property donated by Bette and Tony McGowan, next to the Drummer Boy Park in Brewster, MA. It now faces south just as it did on Red Top Road.
Music: www.bensound.com

[@nonsibi1087]

I've visited this house many years ago when my parents & some of my siblings lived in Brewster. And, as chance would have it, my own old house along the Connecticut River in Western Massachusetts still has, within it, the original 18th Century house .... a one-room house virtually identical to the Harris-Black house in dimensions, window & door, stairway & loft, and fireplace & red paneling. My wife & I raised our children here with many evenings with friends gathered about the glow & heat of the fireplace in the original little house, now part of a larger house added on over the following several centuries. No complaints! ;

[@jadepaulsen8456]

Lucky you.

[@crowznest438]

Thanks for sharing; very interesting!

[@paulbatz7935]

Loved this, would have liked to have been guided up the stairs and shown the loft. I love the old stairways.

[@Girlytang]

Such a lovely house and family story. The host was incredibly engaging and endearing. I was sad for her presentation to end. With such a full little house, how did the parents ever manage enough privacy to have so many children?! I guess where there’s a will… I wonder what happened to the first Nathan. He was young when he passed away. Thank you for sharing this poignant history!

[@cindyrenfroe5212]

Ahh I just love dutch style wind mill and the house and the fireplace it's so cool ,,it's simple and looks comfy ,,I like that ,, ,,and antiques are my favorite ,, thanks for the tour

[@judedavis-goff7023]

I want to see upstairs😢😢

[@megb9700]

An original tiny house!

[@phillypiper8788]

I'll have to stop by for a visit. Great video. Thanks

[@atarayael]

Thank you so much! I had such fun 😊

[@sharonroberts3397]

LOVE VIDEO FOUND IT VERY INTERESTING I LIKE FINDING OUT THE HISTORY OF DIFFERENT THINGS

[@vanessahenry7238]

I am putting this on my bucket list! Thank you for making this video! A lot of women inherited because the men usually were off making their own fortune and sometimes stayed where they made that fortune. It gave the women a place to stay and live out their days - mainly those who did not wed.

[@TonyaO2L]

Thank you for the wonderful tour.

[@lyndavise971]

It's a yoke. I remember my great-uncle using one of these to carry buckets of molasses he had made.

[@alicegoodman4544]

Visit a slave cabin when I was a child. A lady was still living there. She was so kind to all children. Gave us cake and fruit.

[@Mithras444]

Me too, in Virginia and there were two old folks that had lived there their whole life. Not sure the details I was young.

[@amalias8888]

Very interesting history and well told. Thank you.

[@TennesseeTrio]

What a cool place! It’s so interesting to see the differences between early Northern and Southern US architecture!

[@bunjijumper5345]

I would imagine northern houses had to be smaller simply because the work of heating a house was so laborious.

[@skr8674]

How disappointing not to be able to see the loft. 😢

[@patriciadeane7250]

Really enjoyed this video and I thank you! History is so important!

[@yankeewargamer3098]

I grew up next door to this house, when it was in its original location on Red Top Rd. That was way back when that road was rural. I actually shot my first deer about 300 yards from that place... or where it used to be. Sad to see Brewster so built up now days. Love rural Iowa now, but do miss the Cape Cod of my 1970s-80s childhood.

[@HollyOllyOxenfree-]

Born 1777..dies 1804... Such a young man to have made the homestead!

[@timmillan6701]

Fascinating- thank you

[@vickiepeek2279]

love the rock steps at front door

[@shabirjan9201]

awesome and thank u for upload i liked and subscribed

[@jessicajones6032]

I enjoyed this video very much! You did a great job telling the story♥️

[@SlimshadyVictoria]

VERY disappointing she did not at least show us the upstairs staircase!!!

[@stephenholmes5362]

Nice presentation & nice preservation!! You didn't mention that the shovel is a snow shovel. The yoke was usually used by a female member of the family, the males would do much heavier work, can you imagine! Love the information about the taxes, death & taxes are the only thing that can be certain in this world. Benjamin Franklin!!

[@deeannh17]

Thank you so much for the tour. That was very interesting!

[@susanpera2131]

Love it!

[@notthecontentiouswoman-wom2595]

The host was trying to figure out how a couple that had between and 13 children lived in that house. They probably all did not occupy the house at the same time. My mother came from a family in which 11 children survived into adulthood. The children were born over a 30 year period so my mother, who was 3 from the youngest, had sisters old enough to be her mother. My 6 children were born over a 15 year period.

[@dhawkins78412]

Fascinating! Thank you. Yes I found at least one woman ancester who died by fire while cooking. She used gasoline.

[@KhalidMahmood-wm1qz]

I am fascinated THANK YOU

[@BonnieJeanTlq]

Great video. Thanks

[@denisecaringer4726]

What an interesting and professional presentation. I am impressed with the work of the tour guide. Excellent job. Thank you.

[@clayguy1]

I just looked up the dollar purchasing power of $308 in 1804. It was equivalent in purchasing power to about $7,979.05 today

[@delilahhart4398]

I can't imagine two parents and six children living in that tiny house.

[@condorcondor5797]

loved it ...

[@mrschwabone]

Enjoyed your presentation very much Ms. Finch. Now I ned a second viewing to sort out all the family. Thank you and all who preserve:)

[@rockythetalkingparrot2465]

What a charming woman!

[@vintagespider5627]

This was so fun to see love the little house , I’m watching this in the summer how did they keep cool in the heat of summer?

[@terriv2176]

Open the windows……

[@carissafisher7514]

@@terriv2176I guess you are not used to a hot climate? Sometimes it is better to keep the warm air out.

[@bunjijumper5345]

Massachusetts can not be considered a hot climate. As the commenter said windows would have been opened to let in a breeze. I live in upstate NY it's August, its already chilly the high has been in the low 70's while the rest of the country is still getting 90's. Summer here is short. @@carissafisher7514

[@paulinelarson465]

Elizabeth probably inherited because she was the youngest and the other living children would have been established in their own homes as soon as possible. Elizabeth gave her daughter-in-law as much security of place and ability to provide for HER children as was possible at the time. There was very little, if any, legal protection or support for women and children in those times.

[@pamelahelengunchick654]

I saw stairs... whats up there?

[@giovanna722]

She said the children's bedroom is there.

[@donbell8187]

It looks like the walls are not very thick. Is it vertical plank framing?

[@aaronobryan4295]

It looks miles bigger inside

[@ConceptsInHealth]

I was particularly struck by the yoke for collecting water--for 8 people. Everyday. No toilet. No daily bath. We certainly have no idea of the fortitude of most of humanity, and I’m fearful of that realization.

[@marysketch4772]

Love your videos. The sound is set very loud; I have to adjust it every time. Thanks.

[@nancyvickers2814]

You would have thought the women would have wised up after the first dozen or so deaths by fire while cooking dinner.

[@giovanna722]

I wonder if there's an article on that. Women didn't wear pants in those days, so, how did they deal with it?

[@gailcurl8663]

Should of worn Pants back then when cooking close to the fire. And, said NO to the constant BREEDING!!

[@amycastor2872]

I believe the "death by petticoat" is a common exaggeration.

[@sailorbychoice1]

11:25 Wm Shakespeare famously left his _Second Best Bed_ to his wife in his will, leaving his _Best Bed_ to his daughter. This sounds off-putting unless one takes into account that the _Second Best Bed_ had been their marriage bed together, and his daughter newly married.

[@doggygaming950]

How are 8 living there?

[@suetipping4841]

I would think the ladies would pull their skirts and any long undergarments like petticoats up and away from the fire, perhaps the ladies even wore skirts with two sides, like full slacks, pulled the material to their ankles and strapped it close before confronting a fire. My grandmother, born in the 1880's did wear slacks because women worked alongside the men many times. Skirts for company and public, slacks for everyday work.

[@MrRatherino]

what a horror!

[@SunofYork]

My last house in England was built in 1725. Hated it. It was not built to modern standards and was damp with mice in the thick walls. My Wisconsin house is great and modern, but too big !

[@maryeheinly8256]

What did you expect of a 1725 house?

[@SunofYork]

@@maryeheinly8256 It impressed the totty.. They came flocking...That was important at the time... Turned out they were were the snide and supercilious type, You should know about that.

[@jelenekane1547]

Touche'!!! (too funny!)@@SunofYork

[@erin19030]

After you are finished looking here, then check out the people living in caves as wanderers in Iran. The have every need and make do too.

[@bethbartlett5692]

It stuns me, the complete lack of responsible thinking that the early Americans seemed to have, over hunting to extinction of animals in areas, regions, and the entire country, the same attitude towards trees. I can't imagine they were that unaware.

[@marybeth9320]

Why didn't you show us the rest of the home. How annoying

[@darz3829]

It's called the Black House but it's not really Black. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say African American House.

[@EmeraldAngelEyes]

I thought so too at first, but the name is from the second owner of the house: Elizabeth Harris Black.