{"nrhp_refnum":"72001330","name":"Putnam, Gen. Rufus, House","other_names":["Bliss-Murray-Putnam House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"344 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Rutland","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.37487644950005,"lon":-71.97079010248623,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-11-28","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1972-11-28","areas_of_significance":["Military"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story frame farmhouse at 344 Main Street, Rutland, Worcester County, Massachusetts, built in 1760-65 by John Murray. It is also known as the Bliss-Murray-Putnam House.","why_significant":"The house was the home of Rufus Putnam from 1781 to 1788. Putnam was an engineer and soldier of the War for Independence and later organized settlement in the Northwest Territory. The house is also described as very well preserved and little altered.","narrative":"Built between 1760 and 1765 by John Murray, this two-story frame house in Rutland, Massachusetts, has a hipped roof, two interior brick chimneys and clapboarded walls. It measures 42 by 36 feet and faces south with a five-bay front. Inside, a center hall holds a fine stairway, and the rooms keep original pine wainscoting and fully panelled fireplace walls, some faced with blue Delft tiles. A 20th-century wing was added at the rear. Murray's daughter married Daniel Bliss, and the Blisses lived here until the state confiscated the farm because of their Loyalist stance. Rufus Putnam bought the house and 150 acres in 1781 and lived here until 1788. Putnam was a Revolutionary War engineer who planned the fortification of Dorchester Heights in 1776 and later led the first New England settlers to Marietta, Ohio. The house served as a museum from 1896 to 1950 and is now a private residence.","period_of_significance":"1781-1788","architect_builder":"John Murray","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Excellent condition and little altered; used as a private residence and not 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 02:11:53.325738-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/13/7939/63793913/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/72001330_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001330/d45a74f467-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001330/d45a74f467-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Arthur C. Haskell, Photographer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:General_Rufus_Putnam_House,_Main_Street,_Rutland_(Worcester_County,_Massachusetts).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Arthur C. Haskell, Photographer</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:General_Rufus_Putnam_House,_Main_Street,_Rutland_(Worcester_County,_Massachusetts).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793913","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Rufus_Putnam_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5532163"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/putnam-gen-rufus-house-72001330/"}