{"nrhp_refnum":"84002819","name":"Sanborn, Rev. Peter, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"55 Lowell St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.527034085000025,"lon":-71.10579265999996,"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, central-chimney saltbox farmhouse at 55 Lowell Street in Reading, Massachusetts, built about 1812 by Rev. Peter Sanborn on what was once the back corner of Parsonage Farm.","why_significant":"The house is significant for its prominent location at an intersection just off the Common, for its association with Rev. Peter Sanborn, clockmaker Benjamin Boyce and local historians C. Nelson and Eleanor Bishop, and as an example of vernacular Federal architecture. It retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship and feeling.","narrative":"Built around 1812 by Rev. Peter Sanborn, this farmhouse at 55 Lowell Street in Reading is a vernacular Federal dwelling with five bays facing south and a ridge parallel to the road. A central chimney originally served five fireplaces, and the second-floor windows sit high under the eaves. Sanborn served as third minister of Reading's Third Parish Church from 1790 to 1820 and donated land for the Academy, the Third Congregational Society and the Bethesda Congregational Church. Later owners included clockmaker Benjamin Boyce, who bought it as a rental in 1860, and Howard P. Nichols, who gave it Victorian remodeling and raised the saltbox roof. Porches were added in 1920. From 1946 to 1950 the Bishops, local historians and authors, restored it to a single residence, removing the porch and Victorian features. Its prominent corner near the Common, its ties to these figures and its Federal character support its listing.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Rev. Peter Sanborn (original owner-builder)","architectural_style":"Federal; central chimney, saltbox","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Used as a single residence; restored in 1946-50 after Victorian-era alterations, with the porch and Victorian windows and doors removed.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.537597-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/39/7906/63790639/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002819.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002819/9e4cb7f4ab-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002819/9e4cb7f4ab-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ReadingMA_RevPeterSanbornHouse.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_RevPeterSanbornHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790639","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rev._Peter_Sanborn_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7317687"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/sanborn-rev-peter-house-84002819/"}