{"nrhp_refnum":"83000578","name":"Hale-Boynton House","other_names":["Boynton House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Middle St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newbury","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.75143532200008,"lon":-70.90040708999999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-04-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-one-half-story Georgian dwelling built in 1764 on Middle Street in Byfield, a section of Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts, on the campus of Governor Dummer Academy.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant for its historic associations and for its well-preserved period woodwork and hardware. It was built and owned for 133 years by the Hale family, who were closely tied to Governor Dummer Academy, and later owned by inventor E. Moody Boynton. Its unusual fireplace arrangement, with five rooms grouped around a double and a triple fireplace chimney, is also noted.","narrative":"Built in 1764 on the site of a family tavern, this Georgian house sits on a small rise on the Governor Dummer Academy campus in Byfield, part of Newbury. It has two-and-one-half stories, a steep gable roof, a five-bay front and a post-and-beam frame. The interior drew the most comment from architectural historians. Five rooms are arranged around a double and a triple fireplace chimney, with raised-panel wainscot, bolection moldings and a preserved stairhall. The Hale family built and owned the house for 133 years, and Deacon Daniel Hale boarded Academy students there for decades. In 1898 it passed to E. Moody Boynton, inventor of the M-toothed speed saw and builder of an experimental monorail line at Coney Island. A rear addition was enlarged around 1960 with little loss of original fabric. Because the house retains so much early woodwork and hardware, and because of its Hale and Boynton associations, it was listed under criteria B and C.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Georgian","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Occupied; used by Governor Dummer Academy as a residence for faculty and students since 1951, with a rear addition enlarged around 1960.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.365361-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/74/7948/63794874/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000578.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000578/2513547698-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000578/2513547698-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NewburyMA_HaleBoyntonHouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://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:NewburyMA_HaleBoyntonHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794874","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hale-Boynton_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5641349"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/hale-boynton-house-83000578/"}