The property known as Gull Hill is mentioned for the first time in the 1871 will of Captain Jonathan Nickerson, a member of a prominent fishing family. This part of Provincetown was called “way up along.” Here, one was truly at the land’s end, since the road terminated at the Red Inn. The rest was all tidal flats, marshes and grass farms. In 1903 when Charles Lothrop Higgins purchased Gull Hill, houses dating from around 1800—and the houses floated over from Long Point before the Civil War—already lined the west end of Commercial Street.

Charles Lothrop Higgins was born in Provincetown on April 9, 1863, the son of two very old Cape Cod families. His mother traced her ancestry back to the Pilgrims, to Peregrine White, who had been born on the Mayflower in Provincetown Harbor in 1620. On his father’s side, Mr. Higgins descended from the 1644 settlers of Nauset, which included what is now Wellfleet, Eastham and Orleans.

Although he was raised in Gloucester, Mr. Higgins studied in the West Indies. He was a world traveler and well-known lecturer, and lived in the fashionable sections of Boston’s Beacon Hill and Back Bay. Mr. Higgins belonged to the oldest and most prestigious fraternity there, the Mason’s St. Johns Lodge, and drove a Liberty car. He was a haberdasher, and his hat business was housed in a Boylston Street brownstone. He never married and built Land’s End Inn at Gull Hill in 1904 as a summer home, and lived there as a single gentleman.

When he built the bungalow, it was considered unusual to build a residence set back so far and so high from the road. The tedious climb for the owners, guests, staff and anyone making deliveries was not alleviated until the 1950’s, when a drive was paved to the top from Point Street.

Built on stilts to add elevation—an early version of air conditioning—the house had porches that imitated the decks of a ship, which afforded then, as now, views from every side. Inside the house, windows rolled up and down into the woodwork to assist with cross-ventilation. In addition to the stained glass and the art nouveau chandelier that crowned the house in 1904, there were two faucets of running water.

In 1909, having already purchased the beachfront property, Mr. Higgins bought a large white, steep-roofed house that was situated near the present steps to the inn. After moving this house down the street, where it became known as the candy store, Mr. Higgins had an unimpeded view of the beach, and owned all the property at the end of the Cape.

After Mr. Higgins’ death in 1926, the Buckler family purchased “Higgins’ Bungalow” and created Land’s End Inn. During their ownership, the garden rooms were added. The Bucklers held onto the property until 1955 when two gentlemen, Jules Norman & Harold Lague, acquired it; they added heat to the Inn during their ownership.

During 1972, David Schoolman took over the Inn. The many changes he made include adding the large veranda and new tower at the front of the building, extending the rooms on the main level and adding private baths. Many of the artifacts seen around the Inn today were his additions. When he passed away in 1995, the Inn passed into the David Schoolman Trust, which he organized to benefit the theater community in Provincetown.

Fearful that the building would be purchased and razed, in 2001 Michael MacIntyre acquired the deteriorating Land’s End Inn from the Trust, to preserve the Inn’s integrity as a Provincetown landmark. An architecture buff, Michael integrated some of today’s comforts—top of the line bedding, furnishings, artwork and air conditioning in the guestrooms—while consciously working to preserve the heritage and history associated with the Inn. Decks have been expanded for better water views; the gardens have been reinvigorated, and comfortable outdoor wicker furniture has been added. Still, the architectural integrity, tranquility and artifacts remain, a fact that gives Michael great pride. Using plans developed by David Schoolman over thirty years ago, local stonemasons recently laid the entrance path and walls.

Also recent are the outdoor lighting and copper roof over the veranda, and the parking area in the back of the property, giving better access to the top of the hill. A room named in honor of Mr. Higgins is also new. Having a queen bed and access to a deck with incredible water views, it adjoins the Schoolman Suite; the two can be rented together to accommodate up to six individuals.

Land’s End Inn has recently received several significant accolades from the press; perhaps the most exciting is Boston Magazine’s Best of Boston award for best hotel, bed & breakfast on Cape Cod.