John Davis House   -   circa 1804

     The John Davis House is a one room deep, two story, gable-roofed house with a central chimney.

      The land was sold to John Davis, a free African, as a lot in 1804.  The next transfer was of a lot and house, which leads to the belief that Davis had this small, simple house built in 1804, possibly into 1805.  It is also apparent from transfer descriptions that Davis' lot included land that 66 William Street now occupies.  The division of the property took place after the Davis ownership.

      This neighborhood was home to many free Africans in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, particularly the areas around Levin, Thomas, and William Streets (the former two demolished for the development of what is now Memorial Boulevard West).

      The Davis House has simple detail work, much of which remained with the house after it was purchased by NRF.  The house has three bays across the front and the chimney has four fireplaces, one in each room.  The stairway runs to the second floor at the rear of the chimney rather than the more normal configuration of the stairway being built against the chimney just inside the front entry.  Space is very tight in this house and there was just not room enough for an entry and stairway in the same area.

      When one views this house today, it must be remembered that Memorial Boulevard West and its four lanes of blacktop and commercial development, took form in the late 1960s and early ’70s. Up until that time, Levin and William Streets ran from Bellevue Avenue to Spring Street and many 18th and early 19th century buildings were crowded into this tight-knit residential neighborhood.

     The John Davis House is on its original site.  The house was purchased by NRF from the Newport Redevelopment Authority in 1975.