{"nrhp_refnum":"68000045","name":"Ward, John, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"132 Essex St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Salem","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.522985330500035,"lon":-70.89165439179675,"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 17th-century timber-frame house in Salem, Massachusetts, begun about 1684 by John Ward and moved in 1910 to the grounds of the Essex Institute at 132 Essex Street, where it operates as a museum.","why_significant":"The nomination holds that the house keeps much of its original frame and fabric, making it a little-altered example of a 17th-century organic-growth frame house of medieval design. It is also an important early example of restoration and preservation in America, restored under George Dow in 1910-1912.","narrative":"Built in stages by John Ward, a Salem currier, between about 1684 and 1732, this timber-frame house began as a two-story, end-chimney structure. An eastern half was added to form a central-chimney plan, followed by a rear lean-to mentioned in his 1732 will. Later owners used it as a bakery and then a tenement, and a front-gabled, yellow-painted version stood by 1910. Essex County acquired the property in 1887 and wanted the site for a jail. In 1910 the house was moved about two blocks to the grounds of the Essex Institute. George Dow then restored it, replacing the front gables and adding exhibits such as a weaving room, an apothecary shop and a cent shop. Much of the original framing survives, including hewn summer beams. The house is valued as a little-altered medieval-style frame dwelling and as an early American preservation effort. It remains a museum with period displays.","period_of_significance":"1600-1699","architect_builder":"John Ward (builder); restoration directed by George Dow","architectural_style":"17th-century organic growth frame house of medieval design","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and used as a museum; described as in excellent condition, altered and moved in 1910.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.463312-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/83/7936/63793683/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/68000045_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/68000045/b908548803-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/68000045/b908548803-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Fletcher6","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Ward_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Fletcher6</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Ward_House.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"76000303","name":"Salem Common Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/salem-common-historic-district-76000303/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793683","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ward_House_(Salem,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6263015"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/ward-john-house-68000045/"}