The Pink House

The Pink House is a local gem and landmark that attracts locals, visitors, and tourists alike by bringing remarkable beauty, history, and culture to Plum Island. The house was built in 1925 and is located at 60 Plum Island Turnpike in Newbury, Massachusetts. It was then lived in on and off until the early 2000s at which point it was it was abandoned. It was privately owned until 2011, when it was sold for $375,000 to the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. Many people regard the home to be a local landmark, and it has been the subject of numerous photographs and paintings. In 2015, a grassroots campaign was launched to reclaim the property from the refuge in order to protect it.

In 2015, a group of local people organized to lobby for the preservation of The Pink House after neighborhood members were concerned that the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge would demolish it. The sanctuary, which had intended to use the land for school field trip bus parking, decided to postpone destruction in order to investigate other options. In 2018, representatives of Essex County Greenbelt, a conservation organization, met with refuge staff to examine the possibility of a property transfer.

The house’s fame stems in part from a local urban legend regarding its construction. According to the narrative, the house’s site was determined as a result of a divorce in which the wife requested an exact replica of their Newburyport home. But she did not specify where it would be built. As a result, the enraged husband built a home on the outskirts of town, in the Great Marsh, complete with saltwater plumbing. As a result, the structure is frequently cited as an example of a spite home.

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Specs

• Year Established: 1925
• Year Abandoned: 2006
• Original Function: Home for Gertrude W. Cutter

Location

• Address: 60 Plum Island Turnpike
• Town: Newbury
• State: Massachusetts
• GPS: Lat 42.79631 Lng -70.83019
• Parking notes: There is no official parking lot for the house. Most explorers will pull over on the side of the road or park at a nearby establishment and walk to The Pink House.
• Parking directions: HERE
• Location directions: HERE