{"nrhp_refnum":"84002597","name":"Eaton-Prescott House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"284 Summer Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.51751971900006,"lon":-71.11387220499995,"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 house at 284 Summer Avenue in Reading, Massachusetts, built about 1757 for Thomas Eaton. It is a 2 1/2-story, five-bay clapboard dwelling in Georgian vernacular form with Greek Revival details.","why_significant":"The nomination cites its place in an early settlement node and its link to the locally prominent Eaton and Prescott families. It also notes its association with local architect Willard P. Adden, who remodeled it, and its status as an intact example of vernacular Georgian architecture.","narrative":"Standing at 284 Summer Avenue in Reading, this clapboard house dates to about 1757 and was built for Thomas Eaton, a tanner and farmer who bought the land in 1712/13. It was first homesteaded before 1700 by John Felch. The house has five bays, two and a half stories, a boxed cornice and no eaves return. Evidence suggests it began as a story-and-a-half gambrel-roofed building. Fluted pilasters and corner blocks at the doorway point to Greek Revival remodeling in the 1830s or 1840s. A long line of Eatons lived here, including a grandson who died at Saratoga during the Revolution. Joshua Prescott, a lawyer who married into the family in 1813, helped establish the Andover and Medford turnpike. The original farm covered a large area, later divided into many streets. Architect Willard P. Adden bought and remodeled the house around 1910. It is valued for its early settlement, its families and its Georgian vernacular character.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Willard P. Adden (c. 1910 remodeling); original builder not named (original owner Thomas Eaton)","architectural_style":"Georgian Vernacular, Greek Revival","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Remodeled c. 1910 with an extension, garage and dormers; later owners have used the rear north door as the main entrance.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.78536-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/13/7908/63790813/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002597.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002597/4a609533ab-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002597/4a609533ab-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ReadingMA_EatonPrescottHouse.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_EatonPrescottHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790813","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eaton%E2%80%93Prescott_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5331333"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/eaton-prescott-house-84002597/"}