{"nrhp_refnum":"84002501","name":"Batchelder House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"607 Pearl St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.553776019000054,"lon":-71.10108966999996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-07-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2½-story, five-bay Federal-style farmhouse at 607 Pearl Street in Reading, Massachusetts, built about 1783 for Nathaniel Batchelder, a shoemaker.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant as an early farm and shoemaking homestead and for its link to the locally important Batchelder family. It is also an example of Federal architecture updated with a Greek Revival doorway. It retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship.","narrative":"Built around 1783, this house at 607 Pearl Street in Reading follows the traditional local Georgian-Federal form: five bays wide, two and a half stories high and generous in depth. Its large windows suit its date, with the second-floor windows set high. The door surround blends Federal and Greek Revival features, including a shallow pediment in the entablature and wide sidelights. The Batchelder family owned the land before 1703. David Batchelder, a cooper, sold it to his nephew Nathaniel, a shoemaker, who is said to have demolished the old homestead and built this house. Later, William Wallace Davis, who married into the extended family, lived here. He was a Civil War veteran, customs inspector, shoe factory superintendent and civil engineer, and he gave land to the town so Pearl Street could be relocated away from the noisy old coach road. The house was recognized as an early farm and shoemaking homestead, as a link to a locally important family, and as an example of Federal architecture. A 1977 addition and extension altered it, but it retains its essential character.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal vernacular (Georgian-Federal house form)","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Private dwelling; an addition across the north and an extension to the east were made in 1977, and the sidelights may also be altered. A garage stands on the property.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.505824-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/20/7921/63792120/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002501.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002501/3b084ef341-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002501/3b084ef341-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ReadingMA_BatchelderHouse.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_BatchelderHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792120","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batchelder_House_(Reading,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4868720"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/batchelder-house-84002501/"}