{"nrhp_refnum":"84002083","name":"Brewer, Capt. John, House","other_names":["Ledge Gardens"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Main Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Monterey","county":"Berkshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.177911525500036,"lon":-73.20773467746463,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-03-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2½-story, timber-frame, L-plan Georgian house built in 1750 on Main Road (Route 23) in Monterey, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, by Captain John Brewer. It sits on 2.12 acres with a well house, barn foundation and stone-fenced barn yard.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an extremely well preserved local example of Georgian domestic architecture. It is also tied to Captain John Brewer, an early community leader and mill builder, and his family during the area's early settlement. It is also noted for potential archaeological information about farm life from the mid-18th to late 20th century.","narrative":"Built in 1750 by Captain John Brewer, this 2½-story timber-frame house on Route 23 in Monterey is an L-plan Georgian dwelling in which the main block and the ell are nearly equal in scale, so that from an oblique angle it reads as one large square mass. The five-bay south facade has a fully developed Georgian entry, and the interior keeps its mantels, paneled chimney breasts, wainscoting and central staircase. Brewer came to the township in 1739 to build a saw mill and grist mill under an offer from the proprietors, and he and his son supplied much of the sawn lumber for early houses in Tyringham and Monterey. The house later served as a summer boarding house and was restored by Rev. Thurston Chase, who added a rear kitchen wing. The nominated 2.12 acres are what remains of Brewer's original 75-acre mill grant, and the site may also hold archaeological evidence of rural life.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Captain John Brewer","architectural_style":"Georgian","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in excellent condition and used as a private residence; altered only by a 20th-century rear kitchen addition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.929191-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/32/7941/63794132/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002083.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002083/f8d1b7f9e2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002083/f8d1b7f9e2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Crepoudutnysusa","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Captain_John_Brewer_House.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Crepoudutnysusa</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:Captain_John_Brewer_House.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794132","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capt._John_Brewer_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5036435"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/berkshire-county/brewer-capt-john-house-84002083/"}