(2008)
Brass Key Guesthouse | Victorian House.
The Victorian House — a unit of the Brass Key compound, 67 Bradford Street — could just as well be called the “Second Empire House,” since that’s the style in which it was built, probably around 1865. At the turn of the 20th century, it was the home of H. P. Hughes, who operated a staple and fancy dry goods store under his own name on the ground floor of King Hiram’s Lodge. For many years, this house or the abutter at 12 Carver Street were home to William Henry Young and his family. Like his next-door neighbor, Moses N. Gifford, Young was a man whose presence was felt in many fields; so many, in fact, it’s hard to know where to start. He was the first president of the Provincetown Art Association and served in that post for 22 years, from 1914 to 1936. He was the president of the Seamen’s Savings Bank. He was the founder, in 1901, of the William H. Young Insurance Company, a predecessor of the Benson Young & Downs Insurance Agency of the present day. He was the president of the Board of Trade. He was the chairman of the Provincetown Tercentary Committee. And he was a master of King Hiram’s Lodge from 1897 to 1898. His wife, Anna (Hughes) Young, no less civically minded, served as president of the Nautilus Club and was a founder of the Research Club of Mayflower Descendants and of the Ladies of the Anchor and Ark Club. It is for their son — Lewis A. Young — that the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post was named. Serving aboard the U.S.S. Marietta, he died in France of influenza in 1918, during World War I.
This property was combined with 12 Carver Street into a guest house known as Haven House in the 1980s. The properties were acquired by and incorporated into the Brass Key Guesthouse. Both now have the official address of 67 Bradford Street.
¶ Last updated on 3 August 2020.
The William Young agency merged with the Benson Agency and became Benson & Young, owned by Bob Silva, who was also chairman of the board of Seamen’s Bank, the longest-serving chairman in the history of the bank. Later the company merged with the Downs Agency in Wellfleet. (Paul Silva can provide much more history.)
10 Carver was the home of Arthur D. and Martha Alves Roderick for many years. They purchased it in 1961. They raised their four children in the house after having spent time overseas. There were apartments in the back building that were rented seasonally.
After selling the home, they moved to 144 Bradford Street Extension, which was owned by the Alves family. (Martha can provide much more information about the house and the history.) I spent a lot of time in the housing growing up and have very fond memories of it. Arthur was a first cousin once removed to current Seamen’s Bank president John Roderick.
Seamen’s Bank and the B.Y.&D. agency are two of the longest supporters of the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, with over a 100-year connection.
It is interesting how much history relates through this one house.
Indeed, it is, Steve. Thank you for filling in so many blanks.