{"nrhp_refnum":"66000367","name":"Fairbanks House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Eastern Ave. and East St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dedham","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.242928596500064,"lon":-71.16803283021653,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1960-10-09","areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A seventeenth-century frame house at Eastern Avenue and East Street in Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, begun about 1636-38 by Jonathan Fayerbanke and enlarged with later wings. It is now a house museum.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is one of the earliest and finest preserved examples of the organic growth many houses underwent in seventeenth-century medieval design, whether or not it is the oldest frame dwelling in the United States. It has stayed in the Fairbanks family throughout its existence, linking it directly to the past.","narrative":"Set at the corner of Eastern Avenue and East Street in Dedham, this timber house began as a two-story frame dwelling with a hall and parlor downstairs and two bedchambers above, built around 1636-38 by Jonathan Fayerbanke after his arrival from Yorkshire, England. A rear lean-to was added later in the 1600s. Two gambrel-roofed wings followed, traditionally dated about 1641 and 1654, and both were probably finished by his death in 1668. The oak frame is of the upright type, and some authorities say its timbers came from England. The house is valued as a well-preserved example of how seventeenth-century homes grew in stages as families prospered, and it may be the oldest surviving frame dwelling in the country. It has remained in the Fairbanks family for more than 300 years. Since 1903 the family association has maintained it as a museum. Damage from a 1964 car crash and a 1967 fire was repaired.","period_of_significance":"1636-38","architect_builder":"Jonathan Fayerbanke (Johnathan Fayerbanke), builder","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Operated as a house museum by the Fairbanks Family in America, Inc.; described as in good condition, with fieldstone foundation restoration under way. A caretaker's cottage on the property does not contribute to its significance.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 01:58:51.100677-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/99/7937/63793799/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/66000367_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000367/f59f900086-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000367/f59f900086-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FairbanksHouse2013.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:FairbanksHouse2013.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793799","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairbanks_House_(Dedham,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5430017"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/fairbanks-house-66000367/"}