PROVIDENCE – Constructed in 1764, a single-family home with a famed literary connection on the East Side of Providence recently sold for $1.8 million, according to Compass Inc., which represented both sides of the transaction.
The 135 Benefit St. home, known as the John Mawney House, contains four bedrooms, two full bathrooms and one half-bathroom.
Safeguarding the Procurement Process: Oversight, Controls, and Internal Audit’s Impact
Vendor management and procurement integrity are among the most critical and vulnerable functions within the…
Learn More
The John Mawney House is also known as “The Shunned House,” according to the Guide to Providence Architecture, published by the Providence Preservation Society. That’s due to the home’s connection to a famous story by author H.P. Lovecraft.
“This overhanging-gable house exploits the steep topography of the site by turning the principal elevation toward the south and creating a street-level entrance to the basement,” according to the Guide to Providence Architecture. “This may have allowed the original owner, a physician, to use the lowest level as his office. The basement, however, achieved far greater fame as the setting for the evil presence of H.P. Lovecraft’s 1927 story ‘The Shunned House.’ ”
Compass said the property was once the residence of Lovecraft’s aunt, and that’s how it served as the inspiration for his famous story.
“To be part of its next chapter is a privilege I won’t soon forget,” said Kira Greene, founding agent of the Compass Providence office who represented the seller and facilitated for the buyer in this transaction.
The property bears a plaque from the Providence Preservation Society. The nonprofit called the property “the earliest remaining house” built on Benefit Street.
The home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and it’s also listed on Rhode Island’s State Register, according to Compass.
The frame of the principal entrance, installed in the early 1970s, was based on that at Shakespeare’s Head, another historic property at 21 Meeting St., which is also known as the John Carter House.
This was the first time the 135 Benefit St. property was on the real estate market in more than 50 years, according to Compass.
The two-story home comes with an unattached 500-square-foot wooden garage and a 300-square-foot patio, according to city property records.
The home was most recently valued by Providence assessors in fiscal year 2024 as being worth $936,800, according to the city’s online property tax evaluation database. The property’s 0.32 acres of land was valued at $384,400.
According to the warranty deed, a public record of the sale, the home was sold by Timothy and Rebecca More, of Providence, and it was purchased by Whitman and Abigail Littlefield, of Providence.
Marc Larocque is a PBN contributing writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X @Marc_La_Rock.
