WASHINGTON: The Massachusetts Historical Commission has awarded the U. S. Customs House in Barnstable a 2017 Historic Preservation Award. “I’m excited about it because, when I was a (town) councilor, that was one of my early projects,” said Ann Canedy, a former council vice chair, in a brief phone interview as she rushed out the door yesterday (Nov. 2) to the awards ceremony at the Massachusetts Archives Building in Dorchester. Canedy, of Cummaquid, served 12 years on the council before stepping town in 2005 due to term limits. She currently serves as secretary of the board for the Tales of Cape Cod, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting Cape Cod history. “I really was very pushy with (Barnstable Community Preservation Committee chairman) Lindsey Counsell and others to get that building repaired,” she said. “At the time, you could hear the wind whistling through the windows” and the property had been repaired as-needed by the Barnstable Department of Public Works. “We got it looked at from a historical point of view and started using historic preservation techniques and designs,” Canedy said. Town Architect Mark Marinaccio “was excellent,” she said. “Mark applied for the grants, which have been matched over the years. It has been a work in progress. It has been a source of pride for me.”
The Coast Guard Heritage Museum in June opened expanded exhibits and refurbished windows at its museum building in Barnstable Village at a reception celebrating the facelift to the 1856 U.S. Customs House. The building’s most recent overhaul included an ever-shifting, two-floor collection of items and artifacts showcasing flags, uniforms and a detailed replica of the 1932 cutter Cayuga, which initially operated as an icebreaker in Buzzards Bay. The building re-opened as the Coast Guard Heritage Museum in 2005, operating as a non-profit that receives no Coast Guard funding. Its exhibits teach the legacy of how the Coast Guard has protected shores and harbors for well over two centuries. Retired Capt. Greg Ketchen, who became the museum’s president in January, continues to expand the museum’s audio tour with new recordings featuring oral histories from those who served.
Originally built in 1855, the U.S. Customs House’s history dates back to the Revolutionary War. After Independence, the port of Barnstable became the seventh United States Customs District and administrative center under the supervision of first collector General Joseph Otis. Customs activities took place in the collector’s home until the mid-19th century, when congressional funds were secured to erect an official customs house. “The Massachusetts Historical Commission is proud to recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of this year’s awardees,” Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin, chairman of the Massachusetts Historical Commission, said in a statement. “This project is Barnstable’s tribute to the Customs Service and the United States Coast Guard.” Other award recipients include Union Congregational Church, Amesbury; Old Chapel, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Fisher Hill Reservoir Park Gatehouse, Brookline; Harvard Lampoon Building, Cambridge; Norfolk House, Dedham; Winter Street School, Haverhill; Ames Chapel, Hingham; The Howard & Onota 74, Pittsfield; Merrick-Phelps House, Springfield; and Andrews Chapel, Swampscott.
