McKinstrey House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	111 High St., Taunton, Massachusetts
Coordinates	41°53′58″N 71°5′50″W / 41.89944°N 71.09722°W / 41.89944; -71.09722
Built	1759
Architectural style	Georgian
MPS	Taunton MRA
NRHP reference No.	84002181 [1]
Added to NRHP	July 5, 1984

The McKinstrey House is a historic house located at 111 High Street in Taunton, Massachusetts.

Description and history[edit]

It was built in 1759 for surgeon William McKinstry, born in Ellington, Connecticut. He was a Tory in the Revolution, and died of tuberculosis on a ship in Boston Harbor at the evacuation of Boston in 1776. The house and property were confiscated by the Massachusetts Legislature in 1779. The 2-story brick-end house is arranged on a symmetrical 5-bay plan with a hipped roof framed by four interior chimneys.^[2]

He is mentioned in the Diary of John Adams (June 1771). In June 1763, the house was the scene of a grisly murder where the McKinstrey's sister Elizabeth was murdered by an enslaved man called Bristol.^[3]

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 5, 1984. It is now the rectory for St. Thomas Episcopal Church, next door.

See also[edit]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Taunton, Massachusetts
• List of historic houses in Massachusetts

References[edit]