{"nrhp_refnum":"78000476","name":"Alden, John and Priscilla, Family Sites","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"105 Alden St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Duxbury","county":"Plymouth County","state":"MA","lat":42.04483872350005,"lon":-70.68255915536398,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-12-14","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"2008-10-06","areas_of_significance":["Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The John Alden House is a 2½-story shingled house on about 2.36 acres at 105 Alden Street, Duxbury, Massachusetts, believed to have been built in 1653. The nominated property also includes the archeological site of the Aldens' earlier 1627 house.","why_significant":"The house was built for Mayflower passengers John and Priscilla Alden and reflects the northward expansion of the Plymouth colony. The undisturbed site of their original 1627 house is an archeological resource that characterizes early 17th-century settlement in Duxbury. Further study could show how the family adapted to the frontier and how their economic life changed between the two houses.","narrative":"Set on about two and a third acres of rural land in Duxbury, this shingled house with a large central chimney is believed to date from 1653. It was built for John and Priscilla Alden, who crossed on the Mayflower in 1620, lived first in Plymouth, and received a land grant in Duxbury in 1627. Their move formed part of the colony's northward expansion toward fertile farmland. The property also holds the foundations of the Aldens' first Duxbury house, uncovered in a 1960 survey. The foundation dimensions match the rear ell of the present house, which supports the tradition that the older building was moved and incorporated into the newer one. Excavation recovered building materials, domestic goods, clothing items and fishing and farming debris from the mid-1600s, along with earlier Native American artifacts. The undisturbed site offers evidence of everyday life on the Massachusetts frontier that written records do not preserve.","period_of_significance":"1600-1699","architect_builder":"John Alden","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition marked excellent; the form marks the property as both occupied and unoccupied. It includes a modern caretaker's cottage and shed.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.471933-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/83/7964/63796483/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/78000476.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000476/a326e30130-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000476/a326e30130-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pete Forsyth","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Alden_House_in_Duxbury,_Massachusetts.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Pete Forsyth</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Alden_House_in_Duxbury,_Massachusetts.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796483","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_and_Priscilla_Alden_Family_Sites","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6265436"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/plymouth-county/alden-john-and-priscilla-family-sites-78000476/"}