The Federal-style, three-story home on 8 Washington Square was built for sea-captain John Cross in 1803. Cross purchased the land with funds accumulated from his successful career working under the Hooper family. However, Cross, along with his entire crew, died at sea while aboard his ship The Traveller. His remaining family reportedly abandoned the home upon learning of Cross’s death.
The residence came into the ownership of Edmund Kimball, a sea merchant with his own connection to the Hooper family, as he married into it. His wife, Mary Hooper Kimball, died from complications of giving birth to six children. The family home across from the town’s common has been very well preserved since.
