{"nrhp_refnum":"83000585","name":"Stevens, Abiel, House","other_names":["Stevens House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"280 Salem St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"North Andover","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.68059525100006,"lon":-71.09962620599998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2014-04-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A late First Period timber-frame house, 2½ stories with a center chimney, at 280 Salem Street in the rural southern part of North Andover, Massachusetts, built between 1710 and 1719 on a 3/4-acre lot.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an intact example of late First Period architecture and a symbol of North Andover's early development. Of the six First Period two-room central chimney houses in town, it alone has kept most of its original exterior form and detail. Its grounds may also hold archaeological information, including a possible 18th-century store site.","narrative":"Built between 1710 and 1719 at the corner of Dale and Salem Streets, this timber-frame house is a 2½-story, center-chimney dwelling with clapboard walls and a five-bay south-facing facade. Later additions include a shed-roofed leanto from 1791 and a pedimented center porch from 1795, when housewrights Daniel Page and Abijah Fuller also installed late Georgian panelling in the upstairs chambers. Inside, the first floor keeps early quirked molding, feathered wainscoting and a tall cupboard. The house is tied to Abiel Stevens, born in Andover in 1681, who escaped capture in the last Indian raid on Andover in 1698 and later served as Clerk of the Market. A 1718 deed calls him a joiner, so he may have done the original interior carpentry. James Bridges ran a small store on the property before 1790. Of North Andover's six First Period two-room central chimney houses, this one best preserves its original exterior, and the grounds may hold archaeological evidence of the store and 18th-century life.","period_of_significance":"1700-1799 (specific dates 1710-1719)","architect_builder":"Builder unknown; possibly Abiel Stevens","architectural_style":"Late First Period","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Occupied private residence; the form lists the condition as unaltered and on its original site.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:10:51.772669-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/59/7946/63794659/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000585.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000585/327a8121bf-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000585/327a8121bf-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NorthAndoverMA_AbielStevensHouse.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:NorthAndoverMA_AbielStevensHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794659","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abiel_Stevens_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4667630"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/stevens-abiel-house-83000585/"}