28 Winter Street

History

This house has a very unusual shape. It appears to have originally been of two stories with a hipped roof. It is possible that an extension was added to the building at a later date, creating the present large, nearly square form. This house has several exceptional features. These include the large central chimney and the Georgian front entrance, which is flanked by classical pilasters.

This home was first owned by John Harbut, a block-maker, who, with his son Charles, had a shop on Queen’s Wharf. Charles was captured aboard the privateer brigantine Dalton in 1776. He spent the next two years at Mill Prison in Plymouth, England. In 1780, Charles returned to Newburyport to return to the family business.

Nineteenth-century owners include Rufus Danforth, the proprietor in 1851. Danforth was listed as a Columbian respirator in the City Directory for that year. Danforth also owned the next house on the upper side of Washington Street. The house remained in the Danforth family until the late 19th century.