United States Customs House and Carriage House

The United States Customs House at Barnstable, on Cobbs Hill along Main Street (Route 6A) and now the Donald G. Trayser Memorial Museum, is a two-story, hip-roofed red brick building resting on a high granite foundation, built in 1855-1856 in a heavy Italian style; it was the first fireproof building on Cape Cod, with cast-iron structural and decorative features including Corinthian-capitaled columns and an ornate staircase, and a small hip-roofed carriage house stands behind it. The architect was most likely Ammi B. Young, Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury during the 1850s. It served the Seventh Customs District (all of Barnstable County except Falmouth) during Cape Cod's nineteenth-century shipping boom, later housed the post office until 1958, and became a maritime-history museum in 1960. It is significant for architecture and commerce.

United States Customs House and Carriage 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 41.7003, -70.2989 near Barnstable. The nearest cataloged historic site is Blish, Abraham Memorial Marker (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Barnstable Old Jail, Unitarian Church of Barnstable, and Building at 3341 Main St.

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