Francis Malbone House /

Francis Malbone House is an historic house at 392 Thames Street in Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. Peter Harrison, one of colonial Newport's most prominent architects, built the Malbone House in 1758 using Georgian architecture styles. In 1975 the house was added to the National Historic Register. The Inn building was constructed "in 1760 as a private residence for Colonel Francis Malbone (b.1728 - d. 1785), who made his fortune as a shipping merchant at a time when Newport Harbor was one of the busiest Harbors in the New World. Apparently, the Colonel was not above smuggling dutiable merchandise into the house to avoid the King's customs taxes. Subterranean passages found in the cellar have been traced to a subway leading to the pier where Colonel Malbone moored his fleet. This was a practice common in the Free Port of Newport, and one upon which many Newport fortunes were founded." The British occupied Newport during the American Revolution "and seized the Malbone Estate. The mansion was used to store looted gold and treasures, leading to its nickname, "the treasure house."" Allegedly a "love affair [occurred between] a young British officer and the colonel's daughter, Peggy