{"nrhp_refnum":"79000343","name":"Chaplin-Clarke House","other_names":["state survey no.:37"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"109 Haverhill St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Rowley","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.709346165000056,"lon":-70.89167256899998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-05-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A five-bay, center-entrance timber-frame house at 109 Haverhill Street, just southwest of Rowley Center in Rowley, Massachusetts, begun about 1670 by Joseph Chaplin with a lean-to added about 1700.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the oldest house in Rowley and an unusual, well-preserved example of seventeenth-century construction. It is described as the last vestige of Rowley's original settlement. The surrounding area may also hold archeological information on early construction techniques, lifeways and 17th-century coastal adaptations.","narrative":"Built into a hillside southwest of Rowley Center, this house at 109 Haverhill Street is regarded as the oldest in town. Joseph Chaplin erected a one-room-deep house around 1670, probably on the site of a simpler structure raised by his father Hugh Chaplin in 1643. A lean-to added about 1700 completed the present form. The house faces south, with a western half of 1½ stories and an eastern half of 2½ stories. The facade is clapboarded, the sides are shingled, and a central chimney anchors the plan. Decoration is minimal. Inside are three large fireplaces, chamfered structural members and some original sheathing and hardware. Richard Clarke acquired the property early in the eighteenth century, and the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities later owned it before it returned to private hands. It is considered the last vestige of Rowley's original settlement, and the grounds may also yield archeological evidence of early construction methods.","period_of_significance":"1670, 1700","architect_builder":"Joseph Chaplin","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Returned to private ownership after earlier ownership by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities; the form lists it as occupied private residence.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.564405-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/88/7948/63794888/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/79000343.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000343/da689fa285-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000343/da689fa285-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chaplin-Clarke_House,_December_2016,_Rowley_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</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:Chaplin-Clarke_House,_December_2016,_Rowley_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794888","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaplin%E2%80%93Clarke_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5073221"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/chaplin-clarke-house-79000343/"}