{"nrhp_refnum":"84002413","name":"Old Town Farm","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"430 Pelham St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Methuen","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.73822869500003,"lon":-71.24193528499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-01-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick Federal/Greek Revival building at 430 Pelham Street in the rural northwest corner of Methuen, Massachusetts, built around 1845-1846 as the town's poor farm. It is now a private residence on about one acre.","why_significant":"It was Methuen's second town poor farm, built after the creation of Lawrence in 1845 took the original poor farm from Methuen. It is considered an early and unusual town-built structure with an end-wall treatment not seen elsewhere in Methuen. It retains integrity and is tied to the town's mid-19th-century development.","narrative":"Located at 430 Pelham Street in the rural northwest corner of Methuen, this red brick building was constructed in about 1845-1846 to serve as the town poor farm. It replaced Methuen's first poor farm, which was lost when Lawrence was incorporated in 1845 from land that had belonged to Methuen. The building was meant to house the town's indigent, among other functions. It rests on a stone foundation and has a five-bay facade with a recessed central entry, a semi-elliptical fanlight and sidelights. Windows have granite lintels and sills with 6/6 sash. Broad end walls finish in parapets with double chimneys, a treatment not found elsewhere in Methuen. Town records do not name the architect. The property keeps its integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship, and no major alterations are recorded. It is valued as an early and unusual town building linked to Methuen's mid-19th-century growth, and it is now a private home.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal/Greek Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Currently a private residence; no major alterations recorded.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.116003-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/0/7902/63790200/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002413.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002413/5e558d6cf1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002413/5e558d6cf1-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"EraserGirl","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Town_Farm.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">EraserGirl</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Town_Farm.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790200","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Town_Farm","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7085280"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/old-town-farm-84002413/"}