{"nrhp_refnum":"86000502","name":"Holbrook, Charles, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"137 S. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sherborn","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.22547931450006,"lon":-71.36242081772431,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-01-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small Second Empire-style house at 137 South Main Street in Sherborn, Massachusetts, built about 1870-1875 for Charles Holbrook on a knoll set back behind a semicircular drive.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the finest Second Empire-style house in Sherborn, with high-style details unusual for a house of its small scale. It is also tied to the Holbrook family, whose cider mill was known as the world's largest. It retains integrity of setting, design, materials, location, feeling and workmanship.","narrative":"Set on a knoll behind a semicircular drive at 137 South Main Street in Sherborn, this small house was built about 1870-1875 for Charles Holbrook. Though little more than a cottage in scale, it carries features found on much grander Second Empire residences: bracketed porches, a polygonal bay, ornate dormer surrounds and a slate-covered mansard roof. The original multipaneled front door and granite steps survive, and the interior has fine woodwork throughout. Holbrook was a son of Jonathan Holbrook, a Sherborn cider maker. Father and son operated a mill on Forest Street from 1853 until 1897 that was known as the world's largest of its kind, and the quality of this house reflects that success. It was built along the town's main road, a short distance from the mill. The house is regarded as the best of only a few Second Empire buildings in Sherborn and has seen no major alterations. A similar house on Washington Street lost its mansard roof to fire in the 1940s.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Second Empire","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Present use is residence, same as original use; no major alterations; barn/garage outbuilding 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 02:11:56.664113-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/21/7922/63792221/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86000502.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000502/f7702c5fa0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000502/f7702c5fa0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SherbornMA_CharlesHolbrookHouse.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:SherbornMA_CharlesHolbrookHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792221","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Holbrook_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5079079"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/holbrook-charles-house-86000502/"}