A single vehicle veered onto the lawn of one of Bristol's oldest homes Friday night, wedging between the house and a tree and tearing up the yard at 675 Hope Street. The crash struck the side of the Jeremiah Wilson House, a colonial-era residence that has stood on the corner of Hope and Franklin streets since the mid-1700s, but police say the building itself came away largely unscathed.
According to WJAR, police reported that damage to the house was minimal and that the crash tore up the landscaping far worse than it harmed the structure. No injuries were reported, and no arrests have been announced as police continue investigating what led the driver onto the property, the station reported.
A Colonial Landmark on a Busy Corner
The home that absorbed the impact isn't just any old house. Master carpenter and joiner John Peckham framed and finished the Jeremiah Wilson House over a five-month span in 1750 and 1751 before selling the completed home to Jeremiah Wilson, according to SAH Archipedia. The four-bay colonial structure is built around a central chimney and features a pedimented entrance with fanlight and moldings that architectural historians consider among the finest 18th-century doorways in Bristol, per the same source.
The property sits on the corner of Hope Street and Franklin Street in downtown Bristol, set up as a multi-unit residence with off-street parking, a shared patio, and a fenced side yard, according to a Redfin listing for the address. That corner exposure left the home's landscaping directly in the path of passing traffic along one of Bristol's busiest downtown streets.
Hope Street Through Bristol
Hope Street runs through the Bristol Waterfront Historic District, a street grid laid out in 1680 that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, according to the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission. The corridor also doubles as Route 114, a primary north-south route through town.
Property Owner Already Filed a Damage Claim
The exact cost of the damage from this crash has not been disclosed.
It remains unclear whether any charges will be filed in connection with Friday's crash.
