Almost all of us are familiar with a house appraisal. For the average home, it's a pretty simple process.  You hire someone, pay a few hundred dollars and get your report in a week or so.

But this is another way that The Pink House is not an average home! That is one thing Support The Pink House (STPH) has learned again and again on the mission to save and restore the house on behalf of the community.

Getting an appraisal was the first step to learn IF the house could be traded to new ownership in a land swap. Because it is now owned by the federal government, far more stringent standards and processes are required -- in this case, something called a Yellow Book Appraisal.  It is an extensive study to determine the "highest and best use" of The Pink House and its land. Among other things, that includes a study of nearby home owners and the general area, finding comparable (which really are nearly impossible to find for such a special property), talking to the municipality, builders who assess structural value and a plethora of other factors. 

Because so much research is involved, the appraisal can take 2-3 months, cost around $5000, and deliver a report of 60 or more pages!   

For this purpose, we asked that The Pink House be appraised with a little over an acre, which includes all the upland upon which it sits.

Since The Pink House can't be sold at this time, the purpose of this step was to establish an approximate value for The Pink House and its acre, so the land the FWS could add and conserve via trade could be located.  Once we completed this step, it allowed FWS to begin looking for suitable land and STPH to move on to the next step which we will cover in the next blog post. 

A word about a land swap. The US Fish and Wildlife's mission is to conserve land and the habitats for wildlife, in perpetuity.  Buildings or structures rarely figure in to their plans. If they acquire land that happens to have a structure on it, as was the case of the 3 parcels totaling 9.29 acres that came with the purchase of The Pink House, they often demolish it.

Marsh land or even forested land is far less expensive per acre than a residentially zoned house, even with only one acre, located off an often busy Plum Island Turnpike. In other words, trading a house they do not want on one acre, while saving the subsequent costs to demolish it, remove the debris safely, and fill the hole left, could get them many more acres of marsh or grasslands to conserve in return. FWS could conceivably acquire 50 to several hundred acres in trade for this one and The Pink House. The trade would be so much more beneficial to the FWS and their mission, while keeping the house in the community, able to be restored and available for use it would be a complete win for the region as well as the FWS!  

This win/win outcome is exactly why we partnered together in this endeavor, and have stayed committed to it, as we explored one possible solution after another.

What is a legend?

Merriam-Webster says: A legend is a story coming down from the past, especially one particularly regarded as historical, although NOT verifiable.
 
The Pink House Legend certainly fits this definition! It seems to have been passed down for generations. So where did it begin?
 
We at Support the Pink House have researched and spoken to hundreds of people of all ages & still, we have no verifiable answer to where it got legs! Regardless, The Legend itself has seemingly  become History!
 
Our own exhaustive historical research revealed documents a troubled marriage in the early 1920’s, between the first residents of The Pink House: Henry T.Cutter (known as Harry), son of Gertrude Cutter and husband of Ruth Morin Cutter, father of Henry T. Cutter Jr. (known as Harry Jr.). They moved into The Pink House in November of 1925, when Harry Jr. was just 2 yrs old.
 
After a short stay at The Pink House, Ruth was unhappy, having been left alone with baby Harry Jr., was unable to provide for her child. She followed her attorney’s advice and left The Pink House and Harry -- her husband of just three years. She took their young son with her to live at her mother’s home in Salem, MA.
 
Did The Legend begin here?
 
It is easy to assume local “historians” collected and evaluated information which was repeated around town. After all, in May 1926, Ruth Morin Cutter filed a suit for $50,000.00 in damages against Harry’s mother, Gertrude Cutter, who built The Pink House.  Ruth alleges “alienation for the affection of her husband Harry," adding that his mother Gertrude maliciously persuaded Harry to leave Ruth, their home at The Pink House, and their young son.
 
It’s easy to imagine how the chatter around town might have been growing!
 
And perhaps that chatter surrounding Harry and Ruth's troubled marriage was played out in not so private places! After all, at one time, Harry’s parents George H. Cutter & Gertrude, were proprietors of a “café“ at 5 Inn Street, Newburyport, sometimes referred to as a tavern in a local gossip column called The Prattler.
 
Divorce papers were eventually filed in 1934, at MA Probate Court. By November 25, 1925, Harry and Ruth both claimed desertion as the reason.
 
So -- one can only imagine the “talk” that passed from one person to another over all that time! Is THIS how a Legend is born? 
 
Those MA Probate Court records show that the Judge denied the divorce petition, but ordered Harry to pay child support to Ruth for the benefit of Harry Jr.
 
So, was The Legend depicting The Pink House as a spite house already established, or did that happen later on?
 
Harry T, Cutter was finally able to obtain a divorce in the State of Florida. He then married Beatrice Bowry in 1937. They had a son they named Stephen and remained married for the rest of their lives. it seems the new family returned to The Pink House to vacation as the children of Stephen Cutter have told us he enjoyed his visits to “the little Pink House."

Did you know that the Pink House once had an open porch in the front? We didn't, until one day, out of the blue, PH fan Susan Polinsky posted this photo of the house on our Facebook page. It was taken by her mother, Susan said. On the back it was dated December 1950!   Wow! Take a look!

Today the primary entrance is the blue door to the right of the porch, on the front west side. Seeing this photo from 1950 explains a lot. Because when you step inside via the blue door, you walk a few paces to get to an inner door frame, which then puts you smack dab at the center of everything. The living room with it's fireplace and built in bookshelves spread out to your left, a wooden staircase leading to the second floor bedrooms is to your right, and the way to the kitchen/dining area is straight ahead. In the days when the porch was open, that same central frame was the front door.  

So when did it get filled in? When we were were working to get the house recognized as significant on the state level through the Mass Historic Commission, they asked us to find out.  Our PH history sleuths Sandy Tilton and Alison Odle didn't turn up anything. They looked for a building permit, and we asked some of the folks who had lived near it decades ago if they knew and we were coming up with nothing. But when we wrote to one of the last owners to live there, the answer came in a few sentences!  Early in the 1960's, over 50 years ago, the porch was filled in by the oldest son and his father, along with help from the neighbor across the street who owned the boat house that is just West of Bob Lobster. It was to serve as his bedroom which it did till he left for college.  

You can't see it from these pictures, but if you've stood in front of the house, you can see the porch wraps around and spans most of the east side of the house. The outer walls are covered with materials different than the shingles on the rest of the house. 

Pretty cool! If you want to read more about the history of the house and the people who have lived there, please visit our PH History Page. We've just stumbled upon another interesting tie bit that we'll be writing about soon, so stay tuned to this page!

As time has allowed us to venture out of our homes, with mask and sanitizer in tow, taking drives has never been more freeing than now. Mental health for some could mean either simply or desperately just physically getting out the house. So, no matter how one does that (and if you’re local and/or an athlete), a trip out to The Pink House is doable. 

After a year's vacancy, the position of Refuge Manager at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge has been filled by Matthew Hillman. 

Support the Pink House was excited to meet Matthew, having read about his work to save and rehabilitate a light keepers house in his former position as Manager of the Monomy National Wildlife Refuge in Chatham, MA. It was very encouraging to read that he found it rewarding to work on behalf of both the US Fish and Wildlife as well as the community on such a project.  You can read more in this article from the Cape Cod Chronicle. 

After our first calls together, we at Support the Pink House were delighted to find him to be down to earth, positive, professional, and experienced with a fresh perspective and a lot of good energy to devote to his work here. We think the region struck gold having Matt at the helm.

We all wanted to meet face to face but Covid made that a little challenging. The Parker River Wildlife's Visitor Center is closed - but Matt was all for the kind of connection you get in person, so suggested we gather in the butterfly garden behind the Center where we could all distance and see each other (well, at least our eyes as we all wore masks). It was great to get to know each other this way and lay a foundation for moving forward.

​We all left feeling very optimistic about the partnership that is forming to work on all that's ahead together.   It's welcome progress for The Pink House project.  

If you get a chance, please welcome Matt, and let him know you appreciate his collaboration on The Pink House project - among the many other things he'll be doing in this new role.  

The idea is for houses around the Newburyport, MA area to hang signs explaining or illustrating their unique story... which then creates a fantastic reason for neighbors, families and visitors to enjoy a healthy walk in the fresh air, discovering new neighborhoods and learning about the history of this area through it's unique homes. 

It is sponsored by the Newburyport Preservation Trust and the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center. This year's super Pink House poster was created by Kelly Kieslich Page, an artist, photographer, social media marketer and Board Member of Support the Pink House Inc., and it has a lot of great information about this regional icon. 

WalkNewburyport.Com also has a map of the participating homes and stories of the last five years. They state a nice list of what's different this year:
    •    Acclaimed local photographer Bob Watts will be roaming around taking pictures of the sign and the house, for inclusion in a “coffee table” gift book for the holidays. All proceeds go to the Preservation Trust. No one is making any profit here – it’s all for Newburyport – thanks to all the volunteers and participants!
    •    On the map we are including about a dozen “historical signs” or street scenes like the one below. Check them out. We looked for pictures where we could post them on the exact same spot they were taken!
    •    Paper lists will be made available at the library starting Monday; you can also download them here on this website. Watch for the post over the weekend.
    •    The map will also include homes with official Newburyport Preservation Trust plaques – add that to your walk!

So walk, run, bike or drive to learn the history of The Pink House, located at 60 Plum Island Turnpike in Newbury. The most scenic route is to take Water Street out of downtown, along the Merrimack River. 

Please do adhere to ‘No Parking’ signs along the Plum Island Turnpike as you and respect that there's ‘No Trespassing’ on the property, and practice social distancing and wearing masks. Thank you!  

Support the Pink House just recently began working to become a nonprofit organization. We incorporated and filed our application for 501 (c) (3) status. We now are Support the Pink House Inc, and have our Board of Directors and Advisory Board in place, with our status confirmed as of January 30, 2020.

This of course enables us to take tax deductible donations when and if needed. And since we are an all volunteer group, 100% of any donations will go toward our work for the cause. ​

STPH has truly been a grass roots group of diligently working citizens, accomplishing quite a bit while incurring few expenses. The goal of our two fundraisers early on was to raise awareness more than money. What funds did come, after the minimal costs of the events, were to help with our operating costs, while the donation cans we have around town help defray our out of pocket costs for our brochures, bumper stickers and merchant decals. All the other costs of operations, like this website, professional fees, merchandise, banners, fliers, office supplies and what food and drink we put out at meetings have been paid for out of pocket by the good people who volunteer for this cause. 

Support the Pink House was formed from a community groundswell in reaction to the public not wanting The Pink House torn down. We always saw our role to be keeping her standing and continuing to raise awareness and support as we worked to shepherd a solution to keep her in the community in perpetuity. In the 4 years since, STPH Founder Alison Odle looked into becoming a non-profit, as did our Chair, Rochelle Joseph, but never saw STPH as having to raise substantial funds to save the house ourselves, let alone help financially with stakeholder costs. 

But on the long and winding path to finding a solution we have been asked to do all of that -- and more. It was not our plan, but we decided to do what we need to empower the public we represent to help in this new way, should the need arise. 

Keep an eye on our website and our social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, IG) as we adjust it all  to reflect this exciting change! 

​1. Who ARE you guys, anyway? Who made this facebook page? 

We are the original group of grassroots Pink House enthusiast volunteers working on saving The Pink House from demolition since 2015. You can see more about us here: www.supporthtepinkhouse.com We are the ones who created the logo you see on stickers, the ones who hold public meetings at PITA Hall, the ones who do interviews about the house, and host at Yankee Homecoming, and garner political support for the cause, and organize pink house art events, and so on. We do it all! But most importantly, we are here for YOU, working on the things you have said are important to you. We hope that you will engage with us on all things “pink house” as we have become somewhat of local experts on the house. We would appreciate our pages to be kept rumor, misinformation, and drama free for our own sanity and for the sake of the house. If you’re unsure of something you would like to post please just ask us first. We are very easy to contact through the messenger system. Thanks! 

2. Is the house a SPITE HOUSE!? 

As much as it adds to the mystique of the house, not really! We have conducted extensive research into the history of house which shows the spite house story to be inaccurate and more of an urban legend. Please see the history page of our website here: https://www.supportthepinkhouse.com/pink-house-history.html Of course that doesn't stop people from continuing to write and share stories about the Spite House legend, so we've accepted that it’s a bit of a losing battle to set the story straight in any kind of lasting way. Meanwhile, our research continues! 

3. Why do you want to save the house, anyway? 

There is a tremendous amount of public support for the house and we work to save it for the community, for the literally 1000’s of artists and photographers who see the house as a muse and for all who recognize the house as a uniquely iconic structure which brings interest to the area and lends to the authentic sense of place people feel about Plum Island. We see it as our own Motif #1, and feel it would be a shame to lose it. 

3. What is the current status of The Pink House? 

The Pink House is still owned by Parker River / US Fish & Wildlife. We have been in negotiations for several years on the process of helping the house change hands in a  win/win solution. Since the property is owned by the federal government, this makes every part of this negotiation more of a challenge, but one that all sides have been     working on in good faith to create the best outcome for the community.

4. Are there environmental concerns surrounding The Pink House? 

Not really. Though none of us are environmental scientists, the research from our partners with more credentials has shown that the best thing for the environment is for the house to remain standing and not disrupt the high ground it sits on. 

For even more answers to frequently asked questions, please see                                                                                 https://www.supportthepinkhouse.com/faqs.html
 
Written by Alison Odle 

On the first Thursday following Labor Day, Newburyport was still warm, encouraging everyone to get out and enjoy the fleeting summer vibes. Colorfully dressed members of the the Newburyport Art Association and local ladies of fashion gathered at the NAA gallery on Water Street to enjoy an afternoon of champagne, strawberries and canapés, surrounded by pieces of clothing designed by Thierry Charlebois, president and designer of Le Galeriste in Montreal, Quebec.

The sold out event, now three years running, is the brainchild of Newburyport icon Claudia Harris, owner of The Elephant's Trunk, Newburyport. Her timeless upscale women's boutique on Inn Street is the key piece of the partnership, lending her keen fashion eye to guide the designs the event centers around. 

Written by Lauren Fitzgerald. Lauren's  memories of growing up on the North Shore are full of many memorable landmarks, and the Pink House has always been her icon of Plum Island.  In addition to her work with Save the Pink House, she is active in conservation groups across the region.  She is a featured blogger for The Ipswich River Watershed Association and the Mystic River Watershed Association, as well as a member of Friends of the Parker River.

The iconic Pink House is now listed as on the ​Essex National Heritage's Scenic Byway.  The byway is 90 miles long, linking 14 coastal communities to highlight period architecture, scenic views, recreational opportunities, and historic sights for locals, New England visitors and tourists from around the globe to enjoy. 
​
This is BIG!

Minority Leader State Senator Bruce Tarr, prominently committed to preserve the Pink House among among the many important people who have stepped forward to help, was also a champion of the Byway, along with Newbury Town Planner Martha Taylor, and Newburyport's Senior Project Manager Geordie Vining. All have been kind to Support the Pink House as we pursue solutions. 

We encourage everyone to check out the Essex National Heritage Scenic Byway site.  It's a great resource when out of town guests are coming to visit but also for getting out of the house yourself and exploring your own back yard.  They make it easy. Just scroll through their interesting list or search by category or town from Lynn to Salisbury -- and check out their maps!

We're so lucky to live in such a wonderful place. Make it a point to enjoy all our area has to offer -- especially as the weather is getting better using the Essex Coastal Byway as your guide. And if you come out to see the Pink House, post your photos, comments and videos on our Support the Pink House FB page, Twitter or our IG, using the hashtag #SupporthePinkHouse!