Reuben Shapley House stands at the southeast corner of Court and Atkinson Streets. Captain Shapley bought this corner property in 1790, just a year after he had purchased his own three-story gambrel-roofed mansion (no longer extant) directly to the east on Court Street. The construction date of the present building is difficult to determine. A few remaining architectural details, cornices and window frames, suggest that it was built in the late eighteenth century and is probably the building referred to in Shapley's 1790 deed.

In 1790, however, the building did not appear as it does now because it was not a dwelling house. It began its existence as a workshop or store. The evidence for this can be seen by visitors in a section of the first-floor ceiling that has been cut away to reveal the framing of the house. Exposed to view are heavy joints with decorative beading care fully planed along their edges. No such pains were taken to embellish the frame of a building unless it was meant to be seen. From the early 1700s, how ever, taste had dictated that dwelling house frames be covered on the interior with plaster or paneling. By the end of the century, when the Shapley House was erected, only those buildings designed for a more functional purpose, such as a shop or a store, were constructed with exposed and decorated frames.

The building's simple Federal styling indicates that its conversion to living quarters took place while Reuben Shapley owned it. The change to a dwelling house with two chimneys, attractive mantelpieces, and other domestic trims was completed by 1813. One particularly interesting feature is the double outer wall, which provided pockets for sliding window shutters. These not only afforded privacy but also were important in keeping out the chill of New Hampshire winter nights. The house remained part of the Shapley estate until 1831.

The smaller hip-roofed building just south of Shapley House on Atkinson Street is William Cotton House. The lot on which this house stands was originally the site of Reuben Shapley's stables. In 1862 it was purchased by Leonard Cotton, and passed to his son William after his death in 1872.

When William Cotton received this land it was empty, but he did not let it lie vacant long. Following his father's example, Cotton shortly set about turning it into income-producing property He located an old narrow building that would fit comfortably between the Shapley and Peacock Houses and, in 1878, moved it to the site. This was not a dwelling, but a simple utility structure, possi bly a warehouse from the Puddle Dock waterfront.

The interior, as would be expected with this type of building, had never been finished. Cotton remedied this by constructing walls, doors, and a stairway, and adding other details necessary to turn it into comfortable living quarters. He was then ready to derive rental income from this prop erty as well as from the others he had inherited from his father.

Because the original location of this building is unknown, it is difficult to document its age. From what little can be told from its construction, it probably dates from the late eighteenth century It has been returned as closely as possible to its original appearance, with the interior left open as it would have been. The restoration of Reuben Shapley and William Cotton Houses was funded by the Guild of Strawbery Banke. The passageway that connects the two houses is a modern addition.