The Stanton-Babcock Farmhouse
This farmhouse on Quonochontaug Pond, built about 1708, was originally a Stanton trading post. Dutch traders would enter the pond through a breachway nearby. The trading post and land was sold in 1818 to Jared Babcock, and he established his farm on Quonochontaug Neck. After many owners in the early 1900’s, the Brown Family bought the farmhouse in 1944 and restored the building to its original condition as a trading post. The farmhouse is now often referred to as “Whistling Chimneys.”
You can get a glimpse of the farmhouse down the driveway bordered by the white gate off of Old West Beach Road. Beyond the white gate is private property. Please be respectful.
The Quonochontaug Inn
The Quonochontaug Inn was built on the shore of the Ashaway Colony in 1922. After a fire in 1919 destroyed cottages and a rooming house on the site, the property owners, Mr. and Mrs. Learned, hired Mr. Palmer Pendleton, a local farmer and carpenter, to build the Inn. The Quonochontaug Inn survived the 1938 Hurricane and continued as a popular summer vacation spot for visitors until the early 1960's. In 1965 the Inn was sold to the Catholic Church. It has been a retreat center for an order of nuns ever since. The nun’s retreat (formerly the Quonochontaug Inn) is located at the end of Ashaway Colony Lane, which is accessed off of West Beach Road.
Please sign the geocache log! Each visitor is welcome to take a copy of each the postcards, one with an old photo of Stanton-Babcock Farmhouse (Whistling Chimneys), and the other depicting the Quonochontaug Inn.
The land on either side of Old West Beach Road is maintained as open space by conservation groups. There are also walking trails in this area maintained by the Charlestown Land Trust (CLT). Please consult the CLT website for information on these trails.
Parking for this geocache is available at the Quonochontaug Pond Breachway recreation area. From Route 1 in Charlestown, take West Beach Road to the intersection at the end, and turn right towards the breachway. After approximately .2 miles, look for a dirt parking area on the left adjacent to the breachway. Please do not park along the road itself. The geocache is located about a 3/4 mile walk from the parking area.