Architectural story:
The house at 12 Dennison is a one-and-one half story, gambrel-roof cottage built sometime between 1793 and 1826 and is on the original site, although we are not certain exactly when this building appeared on the property.
Restoration story:
Early architectural features of the house include the chimney, the mantelpiece, and some elements of interior trim work. The restoration process included incorporating features from a stock of architectural salvage.
People story:
In 1812, Robert Robinson purchased this land at auction which included “buildings hereon used as a Spermaceti Works and the apparatus therein.” The house at 12 Dennison today may or may not be one of those buildings. It is likely that the “dwelling house” that was on the property when it was acquired by Robinson Potter in 1826 was either this house or the one at 16 Dennison. For all but about 6 years, 12 Dennison and 16 Dennison were sold as one lot from the earliest recorded deed in 1793 until NRF purchased this house in 1968 and restored it in 1970.
This property is tied into key moments in Newport’s history as part of the trans-Atlantic trade system in the 18th century and the change in the labor industry in the 19th century. From 1803 to the 1820s, the 12 and 16 Dennison lot lists an “oil works” referring to the manufacturing of candles from spermaceti, the oily head matter of sperm whales. This was a significant industry for Newport: in the 18th century this city produced half of all of the spermaceti candles used in the 13 colonies.
The 19th-century built environment of Newport would not exist without the work of Irish immigrants. The Ronayne family, immigrants from Ireland, began to buy property along Dennison Street in the 1870s, including this lot. In 1893, John Ronayne split the 12 and 16 Dennison Street properties in his will to give one house to each of two nieces, Mary and Kate Ronayne. In 1899, these sisters sold the properties as a reunited single lot to Michael and Katrina Curran.
While Irish immigrants in Newport played an important role in several industries—many worked as brick layers, stone masons, builders, and teamsters.
Families like the Maguires, Ronaynes, O’Learys, Currans, Carneys, and Caffertys (all who lived on Dennison Street) were an important part of creating and maintaining the city’s infrastructure, including transportation systems that helped people move around the city.
