{"nrhp_refnum":"84002467","name":"Bancroft, Joseph, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"101 Lowell St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.528247015000034,"lon":-71.10839022699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-07-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Federal-style wood-frame dwelling at 101 Lowell Street in Reading, Massachusetts, built c. 1831-1835 for Joseph Bancroft on a hill overlooking an old road.","why_significant":"It is presented as an example of houses built on family land by later generations of early settling families, and it is tied to the locally important Bancroft family. It is also considered an excellent example of vernacular Federal architecture with a particularly fine doorway and well-defined cornice molding.","narrative":"This clapboard house at 101 Lowell Street in Reading was built around 1831-1835 by Joseph Bancroft on the portion of his father's large estate that he inherited. His brother received the part across Lowell Street. The house does not appear on an 1830 map, and because Bancroft married in 1833, construction is thought to date from about then. It sits on a granite foundation on a hill facing south, behind a fieldstone retaining wall. The house is described as a fine local example of the Georgian-Federal vernacular type, with generous proportions, a deep sill and well-defined cornice molding. Its doorway has pilasters with entasis on pedestals, finely molded capitals and a tall Doric entablature. Windows are small but set lower than customary, and are asymmetrically placed on the side facade. A one and one-half story east extension replaced an earlier one shown on an 1854 map. The property is valued as an example of family land passed down within early settling families and for its link to the Bancroft family.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Joseph Bancroft (original owner and builder); architect not stated","architectural_style":"Federal (Georgian-Federal vernacular)","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship and feeling; a one and one-half story extension was added on the east in 1955.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.622035-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/15/7907/63790715/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002467.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002467/b08b9e08ae-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002467/b08b9e08ae-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ReadingMA_JosephBancroftHouse.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:ReadingMA_JosephBancroftHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790715","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bancroft_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6281312"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/bancroft-joseph-house-84002467/"}