{"nrhp_refnum":"68000043","name":"Spencer-Pierce-Little House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Little's Lane","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newbury","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.794996154000046,"lon":-70.85324169934125,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1968-11-24","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1968-11-24","areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-a-half story stone house on Little's Lane in Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts, built between 1631 and 1701 and set within a working farm, with a later frame west wing added after 1797.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the best preserved and least-altered of the very few stone houses built in New England during the 17th and 18th centuries. Its cross-shaped plan, central chimney and distinctive entrance porch survive largely intact. It has stayed in the same family since 1861 with few changes.","narrative":"Set at the end of Little's Lane in Newbury, this stone house sits in the middle of a farm long associated with it. The original part is a two-and-a-half story, cross-shaped building with a large central chimney and two-foot-thick walls of granite, field stone and brick under thick plaster. A two-story porch with an arched brick doorway projects from the five-bay south front, and the Dutch-style entrance door keeps its wrought iron hinges. Inside, a stairway winds around the chimney, and the parlor and hall follow the typical 17th-century two-room plan. A large rear wing holds the kitchen, and a frame west wing with Georgian paneling was added after Captain Offin Boardman, Jr. acquired the property in 1797. The exact construction date is unknown, though it lies between 1631 and 1701 and the house certainly existed by 1701. It was listed as the best preserved and least-altered of the very few stone houses built in New England in that era.","period_of_significance":"1631-1701","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Georgian paneling in the west wing; original portion is a 17th-century central-chimney stone house","criteria":[],"status_note":"Maintained in excellent condition and still used as a private residence; the form also marks it as altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.984565-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/81/7936/63793681/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/68000043_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/68000043/a3c1ad08c5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/68000043/a3c1ad08c5-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Daderot at English Wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spencer-Peirce-Little_Farm_(rear)_-_Newbury,_Massachusetts.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Daderot at English Wikipedia</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spencer-Peirce-Little_Farm_(rear)_-_Newbury,_Massachusetts.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793681","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer%E2%80%93Peirce%E2%80%93Little_Farm","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16900389"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/spencer-pierce-little-house-68000043/"}