Another well-known historic building in Wareham is the Captain John Kendrick House and Maritime Museum located at 124 Main Street. Did you know that the original property, which was purchased by Captain Kendrick in 1778 from David Nye, included the wharf across the street? Identified by the Wareham Historical Society as a “gambrel-roofed Cape-style house,” it was built around 1745. The house overlooks the Narrows Historic District of Wareham.

Captain John Kendrick joined the crew of a whaling ship at the age of 20, was later commissioned as a privateer during the American Revolution and was the commander of the Columbia, a trade vessel, at the age of 47. He was married to Huldah Pease of Martha’s Vineyard. Unconfirmed reports state that Kendrick, a fervent patriot, participated in the Boston Tea Party in December, 1773. He died aboard the trading ship Washington in the Sandwich Islands in December,1794.

The Captain John Kendrick House and Museum property has been maintained by the Historical Society since 1976. Inside the house, visitors can find original architectural features and paneling and wallpaper from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries along with colonial furnishings, a variety of maritime artifacts and period clothing. The Museum is open by appointment and will be open for tours during the Summer of Celebration festivities.