{"nrhp_refnum":"77000189","name":"Fowle, Edmund, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"26-28 Marshall St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Watertown","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.368406640000046,"lon":-71.18026848399995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-11-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story wood-frame house at 26-28 Marshall Street in Watertown, Massachusetts, believed to have been built between 1740 and 1770 for Edmund Fowle and moved to its present site in 1872-1874.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it probably the second oldest house remaining in Watertown. In 1775-76 it housed the executive authority of the emerging Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where treaties were signed and George Washington met the Executive Council. A later amendment raises its level of significance from local to national.","narrative":"Built sometime between 1740 and 1770 for Watertown cordwainer Edmund Fowle, this square, symmetrical Georgian house has two stories, a hipped roof, a central chimney and white clapboard siding, much of it original. Inside, the original Jacobean stairway survives, along with a colonial chimney breast whose details may derive from William Paine's 1762 Builder's Companion. During the siege of Boston in 1775-76, the Massachusetts provincial government met in Watertown, and a large second-floor chamber in the house served the Executive Council and committees of the Provincial Congress. Treaties with Native tribes were signed there, and General George Washington met the council on August 5, 1775. The Fowle family lived in the house for about 150 years. Between 1872 and 1874 it was moved to Marshall Street and converted to a two-family dwelling. The Watertown Historical Society acquired it in 1922 and later restored the north front room.","period_of_significance":"1740-1770","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Georgian","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition and altered. It was moved and converted to a two-family dwelling in 1872-74. It is owned by the Watertown Historical Society and used as a museum and as residences, with two tenants.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.453109-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/19/7960/63796019/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/77000189.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000189/f4f0fa1d0f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000189/f4f0fa1d0f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"The original uploader was Daderot at English Wikipedia.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fowle_House_-_Watertown,_Massachusetts.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">The original uploader was Daderot at English 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:Fowle_House_-_Watertown,_Massachusetts.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796019","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Fowle_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5339472"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/fowle-edmund-house-77000189/"}