Norwood-Hyatt House

The Norwood-Hyatt House is a historic house at 704 Washington Street in the Gloucester, Massachusetts. It is notable as one of the oldest houses in Gloucester, and for its association with Alpheus Hyatt, who did research in marine biology here before establishing the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole.
The oldest part of the house is estimated to have been built in 1664 for Francis Norwood, a mariner and early settler of Gloucester. It remained in the hands of Norwood family descendants until 1879, when Cape Ann Bank took the house by foreclosure. It was acquired that year by Audella Hyatt, wife of Alpheus Hyatt. In 1880 Hyatt used the property as a base for marine research, but abandoned that use, finding it unsuitable, after one season. It was owned by descendants of the Hyatts until 1987.
The construction history of the house has not been researched in detail. It is a 2.5-story wood frame structure, with its earliest framing members showing evidence of...