Cuffe was active in promoting the idea of returning African Americans to Africa, making a voyage to what is now Sierra Leone in 1811 to support a fledgling colony there.

The property also has evidence of wooden-pile wharves of similar antiquity, and submerged granite blocks which suggest a stone pier may have once been located there.

[3] Although the house was believed to belong to Paul Cuffe at the time of its National Historic Landmark designation in 1974, subsequent research by local historians has cast doubt on this attribution.

His work promoting efforts to resettle former slaves to Africa brought him an international reputation, including contact with high-profile Americans such as Albert Gallatin and James Madison.

Cuffe was also active in the promotion of civil rights in his native Massachusetts, petitioning the state for tax relief because he was not allowed to vote.