{"nrhp_refnum":"71000895","name":"Hancock-Clarke House","other_names":["John Hancock Boyhood House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"36 Hancock St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lexington","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.45370781700004,"lon":-71.22884566520861,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-07-17","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1971-07-17","areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-part wooden parsonage house on Hancock Street in Lexington, Massachusetts, with a rear ell and a front section. It was moved across the street in 1896 and moved back to its original site in 1975. It is now owned by the Lexington Historical Society.","why_significant":"It was the boyhood home of John Hancock, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, and is the only surviving structure associated with him for Massachusetts. Hancock and Samuel Adams were staying here on the night of April 18, 1775, when Paul Revere arrived with the warning that British troops were coming. It was also the home of the Reverend Jonas Clarke, a patriot preacher.","narrative":"This two-part wooden house in Lexington, Massachusetts, was the parsonage where John Hancock spent his boyhood, living with his grandparents from 1744. The 1971 form describes a small gambrel-roofed ell attached to a two-and-a-half-story front section with a large central chimney. Later tree-ring testing of the timbers placed construction in 1736-1737 rather than the earlier dates first given. On the night of April 18, 1775, Hancock and Samuel Adams were guests of the Reverend Jonas Clarke here. Paul Revere and William Dawes arrived with word that British troops were advancing, and the two leaders were taken away to Burlington to avoid capture. It is the only surviving structure linked to Hancock for Massachusetts. The Lexington Historical Society bought the house in 1896 to save it from demolition and moved it across the street. It was moved back to its original site in 1975. The house is restored and open to visitors.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Reverend John Hancock (original ell, per the 1971 form); Thomas Hancock paid for the front section","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as restored to its 18th century appearance, well maintained, used as Lexington Historical Society headquarters and open to visitors.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.860733-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/71/7937/63793771/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/71000895_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000895/7c5ed877f1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000895/7c5ed877f1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Original uploader was Daderot at en.wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hancock-Clarke_House_Lexington_Massachusetts.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Original uploader was Daderot at en.wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"http://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:Hancock-Clarke_House_Lexington_Massachusetts.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793771","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hancock%E2%80%93Clarke_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5647018"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/hancock-clarke-house-71000895/"}