Built in 1787

The Oldest House in Sydney

Cossit House looks much as it did when Reverend Ranna Cossit, the colony’s Anglican garrison chaplain, built it in 1787. Although the Crown granted him land to encourage his move to Sydney, Cossit arrived to find that neither the promised house nor the church had been built. After a brief return to New Hampshire, he came back and constructed the house at his own expense. The government later reimbursed part of the cost, and the church was finally completed in 1788.

After the death of his wife, Thankful Cossit, who died in childbirth after bearing thirteen children, Reverend Cossit became a central figure in a struggle for political and social influence in the colony. Following years of conflict, he was transferred to Yarmouth in 1800, where he remained until his death in 1815. Today, Cossit House has been carefully restored and features costumed interpreters and authentic 18th-century furnishings.