It was built by Thomas McCobb as a deliberately elaborate building to exceed in quality the fine house in which he had grown up, which he had lost in a family dispute.

[1] The Spite House stands on the east side of Deadman's Point, the easternmost projection of the peninsula which separates Rockport Harbor from Penobscot Bay.

Living in a log cabin with his Irish-born wife, Beatrice, he raised a large family of 10 children, among whom was Thomas McCobb, who became a sea captain.

In 1774, James built a handsome Federal period house for his second wife, Hannah Nichol, with whom he had three children (twin daughters, and a second son, also named Thomas).

When Captain Thomas McCobb returned from his voyage and discovered what had happened, he resolved to build what became known as a spite house, deliberately near the old homestead and much more elaborate.