Sampson's Folly - Sampson, Josiah House

Sampson's Folly, the Josiah Sampson House at 40 Old King's Road in the Cotuit village of Barnstable, is a Federal-style dwelling built in 1807 and considered the finest example of the period style in Cotuit. It is a full five-bay, two-story clapboard structure enclosed by a hip roof with a monitor and twin interior chimneys, extended to the west by a two-story, three-bay ell, and trimmed with corner quoins, a narrow cornice, and 6/6 sash windows. Josiah Sampson (1753-1829) was a wealthy gentleman farmer who owned many acres of woodland and meadow and married the daughter of Captain Joseph Crocker. The house later passed through the Sampson and Crocker families, served in the mid-20th century as a clubhouse and inn, and was restored as a single-family home in 1976, meeting Criteria B and C.

Sampson's Folly - Sampson, Josiah House is a landmark in Barnstable, Barnstable County. It is one of 6,558 landmarks documented in Barnstable County, among 6,897 historic sites cataloged across the county on MassRoam.

The site sits at 41.6307, -70.4472 near Barnstable. The nearest cataloged historic site is Harlow Homestead (landmark), about 0.2 miles away. Others within a short drive include Rhodehouse, Nelson House, U. S. Post Office - Santuit Branch, and Baxter, Charles L. House.

This record is drawn from public historical records. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.