Cahoone -Yates House   -   circa  1763 

     The Cahoone -Yates House is a two story, gable-roofed building with three interior chimneys.  It was originally built as a double house and is one of several 18th century buildings of this style that still exist in Newport.  There is a middle chimney that is shared by both houses and two other additional chimneys, one for each house individually.  The Cahoone-Yates House also has an element not always found in 18th century Newport homes: fireplaces in the basements of each house – a feature that allowed for ‘summer kitchens’ that kept heat away from the main living areas of the house. 

     There are two identical doorways that enter into halls with staircases that are back to back along the shared wall.  There is some question whether the doorways were originally recessed.  No conclusive evidence presented itself during restoration, so NRF chose to retain the existing condition.  Both units were originally of the three bay plan with an addition of one bay being made to the eastern unit in the late 18th century.

      James Cahoone and Samuel Yates purchased two separate and adjoining parcels of land in 1763.  It seems this may have been done with the intent of building a double house.  Cahoone and Yates were both house painters. Cahoone also had a store selling painting supplies.  Numerous advertisements in the Newport Mercury during the last half of the 18th century ran under Cahoone's name and later his son's name.

      Each house changed ownership several times during the late 18th and 19th centuries. Then, in 1874, the two houses came under the single ownership of Thomas Lynch and have remained united in ownership through the current NRF stewardship.

     The Cahoone -Yates House is on its original site.  The Newport Restoration Foundation purchased the house in 1968 and restored it in 1974-75.