Our View: A Jewel For West Harwich

 For half a century, Bishop’s Terrace was an elegant dining establishment in the heart of West Harwich. Before that, it was one of the oldest homes in the neighborhood. Job Chase, one of the first settlers in the area, built the original house in 1778. Although added onto significantly over the years, the house remains a fine example of Georgian architecture in the stretch of Route 28 known as Captains’ Row.

 In the years since the restaurant closed, however, the building has suffered from neglect, to the point where it was recently condemned. It’s been something of a blight within the row of stately old captains’ houses between the Herring River and the Dennis town line, which is under consideration for nomination as a National Register Historic District. 

 We learned this week that the property is scheduled to be sold and that the new owners plan to rehab the original home and remove the haphazard additions built onto it over the years. This is extremely good news for those who care about preserving the past as well as a boon to the effort to create the historic district focusing on the town’s seafaring past. Those behind the effort include select board member Jeffrey Handler and his mother-in-law Sandy Wycoff. An owner of businesses in Chatham and Harwich, Wycoff is well known for her philanthropic endeavors, and restoring the Chase house to its former glory would certainly top her community achievements. 

 It’s unlikely that anyone would have taken on the massive task of rehabilitating the Bishop’s Terrace property without the spark that the Captains’ Row initiative has lit. Historian Duncan Berry deserves tremendous credit as the driving force behind the effort, and developer John Carey’s rehabilitation of the old West Harwich Schoolhouse, as well as his work to restore the West Harwich Baptist Church, set the template for what we expect will be the restoration of another jewel in the West Harwich crown.