The Josiah Mayo House

The Josiah Mayo House has stood along Main Street across from the Town Hall for nearly 200 years, built by blacksmith Josiah Mayo after he came to town from Brewster, and although it has been moved on its site and altered with additions over time, its original core, created for his bride Desire Harding, remains intact along with much of the original hardware he made himself. The house originally stood on four acres, including land now occupied by the Cape Cod Five Bank, and during Josiah Mayo’s lifetime it was a focal point in the village. A prominent Chatham citizen, he served as postmaster from 1822 to 1862, first distributing mail from his kitchen and later from a small ell on the east side of the house, and he was also town clerk and treasurer for 26 years. Josiah and Desire Mayo also operated a small dry goods store in the ell until growing mail volume and store business led them to move both functions to a separate store on Main Street. A shed at the rear of the house was expanded over the years to run the building’s full length and served as an indoor outhouse and wood storage, and a barn stood behind the house. The interior and second floor were later altered from their original arrangement, which would have included two bedrooms for the couple’s four children, two boys and two girls. Several generations of Mayo descendants lived there until 1938, when the house was sold and used for various retail purposes until the Cape Cod Five Bank acquired the property. The Mayo House was given to the Chatham Conservation Foundation in 1974 by the Cape Cod Five Bank, and in 2016 a Community Conservation Act grant funded restoration of the exterior with a new roof and siding, removal of shutters, and installation of a front door appropriate to the 1800s. At the same time, the building was repurposed as the foundation’s headquarters, while some areas remained open for public viewing of original architectural details and Mayo family items including the family Bible, a sampler, ledger, tintype, and portrait of Josiah. The grounds at the house later replaced a traditional lawn with Cape Cod native plants to support pollinators, reduce maintenance, and demonstrate the use of native species suited to the region’s sandy soil.

Chatham, Massachusetts · United States