{"nrhp_refnum":"84002504","name":"Battell House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"293 Haverhill St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.53934248400003,"lon":-71.08769718399998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-07-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Federal-style dwelling at 293 Haverhill Street in Reading, Massachusetts, built about 1806 on a six-acre site. It was originally owned by the Battell family; no architect is named.","why_significant":"The nomination cites it as an early farm homestead and as a good example of restrained, vernacular Federal architecture in Reading. It is also linked to Civil War veteran Charles P. Battell, who lost a leg at Petersburg in 1865.","narrative":"Built around 1806 at 293 Haverhill Street in Reading, this clapboard house sits on about six acres, facing south on a slight rise. It began as a farm homestead on land once part of the Symonds property, which came to the Battell family through marriage. The house is a good example of Federal building in a town where architecture was conservative and detail restrained. Small second-floor windows nearly touch the plate, the eaves have no gable returns, and a narrow molded cornice strip appears on the front only. The doorway keeps what appear to be old fluted pilasters and full-length sidelights, though the entablature is recent. Differences in chimneys and interior paneling may mean the house was first three bays long. An ell was added around 1825 and a rear extension in the 1950s. Charles P. Battell, a Civil War soldier who enlisted in 1862 and lost a leg at Petersburg in 1865, is tied to the property. It was listed for its farm history, this connection, and its architecture.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Still used as a dwelling and privately owned, with an ell added about 1825 and a rear extension in the 1950s.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.6765-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/95/7922/63792295/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002504.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002504/1e5377c722-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002504/1e5377c722-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ReadingMA_BattellHouse.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_BattellHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792295","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battell_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4869699"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/battell-house-84002504/"}