{"nrhp_refnum":"09000033","name":"Merriam, M.H. and Company","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"7-9 Oakland St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lexington","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.448902874000055,"lon":-71.22768646999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-02-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former factory complex at 7-9 Oakland Street in downtown Lexington, Massachusetts, with a wood-frame factory built in 1882, a mid-19th-century barn moved to the site around 1896, a ca. 1915 garage, a small cottage, and a brick storage shed.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the factory was the principal manufacturing establishment in Lexington in the late 19th century and is tied to the growth of downtown Lexington as the town's commercial center. It is also called a rare surviving example of a utilitarian wood-frame factory in the town. Owner Matthew H. Merriam was a prominent local resident, and the firm made leather and fabric trimmings for the shoe and clothing industries.","narrative":"Seven-nine Oakland Street in downtown Lexington, Massachusetts, holds the former M.H. Merriam & Company factory, built in 1882 at the edge of the Meriam Hill neighborhood. The long, narrow wood-frame building was extended around 1896 when a mid-19th-century barn from Matthew Merriam's former estate was moved to the site for offices and shipping, and a concrete garage followed around 1915. A small cottage and a brick shed also remain. The company made leather and fabric trimmings for shoe and clothing makers. By 1890 it was described as the largest and best equipped of its kind in the country and was the largest manufacturer in Lexington, a town where manufacturing was never a major part of the economy. It employed 30 to 35 workers, mostly women. The site was listed for its role in the town's commercial development and as a rare utilitarian wood-frame factory. A certified rehabilitation in 2007/2008 converted the factory into 15 residential units.","period_of_significance":"1882-1958","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"No style (main block); Italianate (barn addition)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Rehabilitated in 2007/2008 as a residence with 15 units for people with brain injuries; the cottage was not rehabilitated and its interior finishes are in very poor condition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.875684-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/72/7957/63795772/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/09000033.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000033/97fee3e34f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000033/97fee3e34f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LexingtonMA_MHMerriamAndCompany.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LexingtonMA_MHMerriamAndCompany.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795772","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.H._Merriam_and_Company","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15713102"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/merriam-m-h-and-company-09000033/"}