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- The historic preservation group that owns the property has overseen a series of restoration projects that spanned years.
- The historic home is available for rent for $2,900 a month.
EAST PROVIDENCE – History lovers have a rare opportunity to live in one of Rhode Island’s oldest homes.
With an estimated construction date of 1724, the four-bedroom Philip Walker House in East Providence is available to rent for $2,900 a month.
The historic preservation society Preserve Rhode Island has owned the property at 432 Massasoit Ave. since 1984, and over the years it has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into restoration, fortifying the house’s structural integrity and adding modern conveniences.
“It’s a unique opportunity, and it’s in the best condition now,” said Paul Trudeau, the nonprofit’s director of preservation. “It’s a pretty hefty investment to keep this building in its best shape, so we are focusing now on getting it to a state where it’s a nice place to live.”
Preserve Rhode Island plans to use the rental income to help recoup its investment in the property.
For additional preservation opportunities, the Newport Restoration Foundation and the Providence Preservation Society both have programs for community members to help steward historic properties.
What renovations have been done to the house?
The original house was a four-room building with a chimney jutting out of the center – an important feature for cooking and providing heat.
“That original square plan was a pretty straightforward floor plan at the time,” Trudeau said.
For years, under Preserve Rhode Island’s stewardship, the house was essentially a research site, where architectural historians and students studied its structure and materials, often opening up the walls to do so. It was only in 2003 through dendrochronology – a method of assessing age through tree rings – that a research team figured out that Walker House was constructed in the early 18th century, and that their previous estimates had been incorrect.
Although valued for its educational gains, the invasive nature of the research compromised the house’s livability. The preservation group first started renovations in 1990, mostly focusing on the building’s exterior. In 2008, they redid the house’s plumbing and HVAC systems, updating the kitchen and bathroom.
More recently, Preserve Rhode Island partnered with Shantia Anderheggen, who owns the firm Preservation Strategies, on a rehabilitation project that focused on the interior details. The work wrapped up last month and included cleaning, painting, treating floors, carpentry repairs, plaster and drywall repairs and installing a new custom mantle around the central fireplace that had previously been damaged.
What is the history of the Philip Walker House?
The Walker House was originally thought to have been constructed in 1679 on top of the foundation of a house that burned down during King Philip’s War. The property once encompassed 96 acres of farmland, but spans 1½ acres today. Details about its construction are limited, but the house is named after a prominent landowner from that era, Philip Walker.
“He had 10 children. He was a farmer. He worked as a weaver and a sawmill proprietor. He was the deacon of the church here. He had a lot of things going on,” said Trudeau. “By the late 17th century, he had a pretty sizeable estate.”
Walker House is considered a significant architectural heritage site in Rhode Island, as one of the few surviving houses from the period when classical forms of Georgian architecture were first introduced. The house still has many of its early Georgian facets, including the chimney breasts, paneled doors and door frames, mantelpieces and finishing materials, such as plasterwork and flooring.
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It was inhabited by descendants of Philip Walker until Faith Shedd Potter deeded the property to Preserve Rhode Island in the 1980s.
