{"nrhp_refnum":"79000356","name":"Locke, Capt. Josiah, House","other_names":["Vinson-Owen House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"195 High St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Winchester","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.44383394700003,"lon":-71.17279253299995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-03-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick Federal-style house at 195 High Street in Winchester, Massachusetts, built in 1803 by either Captain Josiah Locke or his father, Josiah Locke of Woburn.","why_significant":"It is one of a handful of Winchester structures surviving from before the railroad arrived in 1833, and one of few anywhere with a complete room of Federal-period wallpaper still in place. It retains a high proportion of original fabric and reflects the Locke family's history as early settlers. It also has local significance through its link to a 20th-century family of championship skaters.","narrative":"Built in 1803 on what was then sparsely settled farmland, this brick house at 195 High Street in Winchester is a five-bay, two-story Federal-style building with a central entrance, fanlight, flat columned portico and hipped roof with four end chimneys. Tax records credit either Captain Josiah Locke or his father with its construction. After Locke drowned in 1818, the Probate Court divided the house through its central hall, and the halves stayed in separate ownership for decades, which helps explain the mix of Federal and Greek Revival interior detail. The entrance hall keeps Federal-period wallpaper, a rare survival. The house predates the 1833 railroad and retains much original fabric, including scarfed clapboards and early sash. In the 20th century it belonged to the Vinson family. Maribel Vinson Owen, a nine-time national figure skating champion and Olympian, inherited it in 1942, adding a local link to skating history.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition and a private residence; a 1941 fire damaged the west ell, which was then reconstructed.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.037913-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/54/7956/63795654/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/79000356.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000356/d79506de4e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000356/d79506de4e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WinchesterMA_CaptainJosiahLockeHouse.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:WinchesterMA_CaptainJosiahLockeHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795654","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capt._Josiah_Locke_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5036451"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/locke-capt-josiah-house-79000356/"}