{"nrhp_refnum":"83004092","name":"Boyden, Seth, House","other_names":["Oakwud"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"135 Oak St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Foxboro","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.07365533150005,"lon":-71.21669133825878,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-11-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick Federal style farmhouse at 135 Oak Street, Foxboro, Massachusetts, built in the late 18th century and substantially enlarged in 1836, on a 13-acre hilltop property with a gazebo, pond and stream.","why_significant":"The house is significant for its unusual architecture: a brick Federal farmhouse with an asymmetrical hip and lean-to roof is rare for rural southeast Massachusetts of its period. It is also tied to the Boyden family, prominent locally and regionally, including inventors Seth Boyden III and Uriah Boyden. The grounds may also hold archaeological resources from over two hundred years of occupation.","narrative":"Set on a hilltop in Foxboro, this two-story brick farmhouse was built in the late 18th century and enlarged in 1836. It sits on its original cut granite foundation within 13 acres of undeveloped land that include a pond, a stream and a rustic early 20th century gazebo made of rough branches. The L-shaped Federal style building has an asymmetrical form, a combined hip and lean-to roof and a large off-center chimney. Inside, a pine-sheathed staircase and Federal mantles survive. Brick Federal construction is unusual for a rural farmhouse in southeast Massachusetts of that era. The property belonged to the Boyden family from at least 1737 until 1922. Seth Boyden II, a blacksmith, inventor and local official, was the owner when the brick house went up. Two of his sons became noted industrial figures: Seth III, an inventor in Newark, New Jersey, and Uriah, a turbine designer in Lowell. The grounds may also contain archaeological evidence of earlier buildings and tunnels.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Occupied private residence in excellent condition, altered over time with 19th and early 20th century additions.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.026735-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/93/7961/63796193/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83004092.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83004092/0ca89ebedc-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83004092/0ca89ebedc-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FoxboroughMA_SethBoydenHouse.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:FoxboroughMA_SethBoydenHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796193","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Boyden_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7456442"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/boyden-seth-house-83004092/"}