{"nrhp_refnum":"76000251","name":"Simonds Tavern","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"331 Bedford St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lexington","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.46769618700006,"lon":-71.24294925399994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-10-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, gabled Federal-style house at 331 Bedford Street in Lexington, Massachusetts, built about 1795 with a wing added about 1810. It was built by Joshua Simonds Jr. and served as a tavern from 1802 to 1828.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the building is tied to the early settlers of Lexington and to the town's commercial history in the Federal era. Joshua Simonds Jr. opened a tavern here in 1802 to serve drovers on the Boston route, and it prospered after Bedford Street was rebuilt in 1806. Architecturally, it is one of the few double Federal houses in Lexington.","narrative":"Simonds Tavern is a two-story, gabled house on Bedford Street in Lexington, near Route 128 and about a mile and a quarter northwest of Lexington Center. The original five-bay section dates from about 1794-1795 and was built by Joshua Simonds Jr., whose family arrived in Lexington in 1686. He opened a tavern in the house in 1802 to serve drovers bringing cattle, sheep and turkeys to the Boston market. Rebuilding of Bedford Street in 1806 brought more traffic, and a three-bay wing was added in 1810. Simonds closed the tavern in 1828, and the building then served as a farmhouse and residence for a succession of local families. The clapboard house stands on a granite-faced brick foundation, with a continuous dentil cornice, paired entrances with pilasters and modillioned cornices, and six-over-six windows. It is valued for its link to early Lexington settlers, to the town's Federal-era commerce, and as one of the few double Federal houses in the town.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal (Georgian original house, per the description)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as unaltered and in excellent condition; now used as a private residence, with the interior panelling of the older north section preserved.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:55.071879-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/13/7961/63796113/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/76000251.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000251/5d6608209a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000251/5d6608209a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Simonds_Tavern,_April_2010,_Lexington_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Simonds_Tavern,_April_2010,_Lexington_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796113","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simonds_Tavern","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7520239"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/simonds-tavern-76000251/"}