{"nrhp_refnum":"76000287","name":"Foster, Gen. Gideon, House","other_names":["Peabody Historical Society Headquarters"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"35 Washington St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Peabody","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.52302051700008,"lon":-70.92450564899997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-06-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story Federal style house built about 1810 for merchant John Saunders on Main Street in Peabody, Massachusetts. It was moved in 1854 to its present site at 35 Washington Street, where it serves as the Peabody Historical Society headquarters.","why_significant":"The house is significant as the home of Revolutionary War hero General Gideon Foster, who lived there from 1815. It is also an important Federal period building in central Peabody, largely unaltered since construction and recalling the McIntire houses of nearby Salem.","narrative":"Built around 1810 for the merchant John Saunders, this three-story Federal style house originally stood on Main Street in Peabody, Massachusetts. Its five-bay clapboard facade, hip roof, central entrance with sidelights and McIntire-inspired interior details echo the dignified merchant houses of nearby Salem on a more modest scale. General Gideon Foster bought the house in 1815. Born in Peabody in 1749, he led a company of Minutemen at Lexington, served in the siege of Boston, and rose to major general of the state militia. He also held town offices and ran bark, grist and chocolate mills of his own design. Later owners included the wool manufacturer Eben Sutton, who sold the house on condition that it be moved. Franklin Merrill relocated it to Washington Street in 1854. The Peabody Historical Society bought it in 1916 and, after a full restoration, uses it for collections of pottery, fire department items, rare books and Revolutionary War objects.","period_of_significance":"1810 (specific date); historically significant dates 1815-1916","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Excellent condition and unaltered; completely renovated and restored after years of neglect; in use as the Peabody Historical Society headquarters and museum.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.897201-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/36/7949/63794936/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/76000287.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000287/fd8a8e24df-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000287/fd8a8e24df-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gen._Gideon_Foster_House,_Peabody_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:Gen._Gideon_Foster_House,_Peabody_MA.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"85002380","name":"Washington Street Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/washington-street-historic-district-85002380/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794936","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gen._Gideon_Foster_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5530797"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/foster-gen-gideon-house-76000287/"}