Nathaniel Winsor Jr. House

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Nathaniel Winsor Jr. House is a historic home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, located at 479 Washington Street. Built in 1807 for shipmerchant Nathaniel Winsor Jr. and his wife Hannah Loring Winsor, it is a grand Federal-style house that is three stories tall and five bays wide. Its design includes corner pilasters, a wide central hall, a doorway with a half-elliptical fanlight and side lights, and a prominent Palladian window lighting the upper hall.

The Winsor family were prominent shipbuilders. Nathaniel’s grandfather began building boats on Clark’s Island in the 1740s, and his father built fishing schooners in Duxbury. Nathaniel Jr. helped his family’s business grow and even expanded into international trade. Later, his son-in-law, Capt. Erastus Sampson, owned the house from 1835 to 1893.

In the early 20th century, the house operated as a hotel called the Colonial Inn. In 1950 it became a bed and breakfast run by Dr. and Mrs. Edwin Leonard, drawing guests such as Buckminster Fuller and actress Margaret Hamilton.

In 1997, after a community fundraising effort, the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society purchased the house to use as its headquarters. Today the building houses the society’s offices and hosts public and private events.

The Nathaniel Winsor Jr. House is part of the Old Shipbuilders Historic District and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, recognizing its historical and architectural significance.