{"nrhp_refnum":"77000201","name":"Gay Farm","other_names":["Negus Hill","Nichewaug Hill"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"S of Petersham off Nichewaug Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Petersham","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.46398391100007,"lon":-72.18447104599994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-09-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story gambrel-roofed farmhouse with a rear ell, barn and sheds on Gay Drive off Nichewaug Road in Petersham, Worcester County, Massachusetts, built between 1740 and 1742 by William Negus.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as the oldest remaining house in Petersham. It also housed the same family, the Negus family and its descendants, for 234 years. Several generations of the family, including a Revolutionary War soldier, are tied to the property.","narrative":"Set on a slight rise behind an old stone wall in Petersham, Gay Farm is a two-story gambrel-roofed house with a central stone chimney and stone foundation, built between 1740 and 1742 by William Negus. Wide shiplap boards still cover the walls, though they were shingled over around 1880 and partly exposed again after 1926. A rear ell began as a summer kitchen and was converted around 1940. The interior follows a center-chimney plan with three first-floor fireplaces, one with a brick oven. A barn about 200 years old, two sheds and a brick cistern remain on the 30 acres left from an original 96. The house is considered the oldest surviving in Petersham. It stayed with the Negus family and their descendants for 234 years. Joseph Negus, a Revolutionary War soldier later commissioned captain and major, received the farm in 1769, and his son Joel, a surveyor, town clerk and craftsman, inherited it after him.","period_of_significance":"1740-1742","architect_builder":"William Negus","architectural_style":"Colonial","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied private residence, in fair condition and altered; the widow of a later owner is described as still living in the house at the time of nomination.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.43863-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/56/7974/63797456/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/77000201.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000201/220a879088-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000201/220a879088-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PetershamMA_GayFarm.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PetershamMA_GayFarm.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63797456","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_Farm","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5528578"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/gay-farm-77000201/"}