{"nrhp_refnum":"84002833","name":"Symonds, Thomas, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"320 Haverhill St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.54049247700004,"lon":-71.08883151699996,"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 brick-end Federal farmhouse at 320 Haverhill Street in Reading, Massachusetts, built about 1785 for Thomas Symonds, Jr., on a 2.2-acre site facing south on a rise above an old road.","why_significant":"The nomination cites its role as an early farm homestead, its link to Revolutionary War veteran Lt. Thomas Symonds, Jr., and its relatively high-style Federal construction. It is the only house of brick-end construction in Reading. It is said to retain integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship and feeling.","narrative":"Built around 1785 on Haverhill Street in Reading, this farmhouse combines brick ends with a clapboard front, a form found nowhere else in the town. Four tall chimney stacks rise from interior end chimneys. The south doorway has reeded pilasters and half-length sidelights, while the north doorway has a tall, narrow opening with a four-pane transom. Thomas Symonds, Jr., a Revolutionary War veteran, built it on land his blacksmith father, Thomas Symonds, Sr., had held since 1750. The family came from Salem, and the design may reflect the influence of Daniel Bancroft, a cousin of Symonds' wife who worked with Samuel McIntire. Brick was probably a matter of fashion rather than economy in an all-wooden town, since Symonds co-owned a local sawmill. The house is valued as an early farm homestead, for its association with Symonds, and as a relatively high-style Federal building. A ruined barn survives on the 2.2-acre property.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Thomas Symonds, Jr. (original owner and builder); Daniel Bancroft possibly influenced the design","architectural_style":"Brick-end Federal (country-Federal farmhouse)","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Private ownership; the barn is in ruins. The roof balustrade and entry porch (c. 1906) were removed c. 1980, and the south first-floor fenestration was altered c. 1946.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.41149-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/25/7906/63790625/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002833.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002833/27210d93d1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002833/27210d93d1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ReadingMA_ThomasSymondsHouse.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_ThomasSymondsHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790625","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Symonds_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7794314"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/symonds-thomas-house-84002833/"}