Harwich Historic Commission Names Three Properties as First Preservation Award Winners

HARWICH — May 20, 2026 — Harwich Historic Commission selects three properties as the first recipients of its new preservation award program. The commission voted 5-0 three separate times at its May 20 meeting, approving the West Harwich Schoolhouse at 5 Bells Neck Road, the Old Bank Street Firehouse at 203 Bank Street, and the Anthony Phillips House at 617 Route 28 in Harwichport as the inaugural 2026 Historic Preservation Award winners. Member Paul Doan, who has driven the program for more than a year, noted the Nickerson family's restoration of the circa-1796 Phillips House — completed in 2018 — would serve a public education role, telling the board that "too many people come in and buy an old home and don't understand before they buy it that it is over a hundred years old, that we have a demolition delay bylaw." The commission also approved a certificate of appropriateness for a workshop garage at 458 Sisson Road and cleared a partial-demolition addition at 657 Main Street, while continuing a full-demolition application at 55 Bank Street to June 17 after the applicant's architect could not participate remotely. Between the three award-winning projects, twenty units of housing are provided, all on the state Subsidized Housing Inventory.