{"nrhp_refnum":"86001219","name":"Tobey Homestead","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Main St. and Sandwich Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wareham","county":"Plymouth County","state":"MA","lat":41.75671327300006,"lon":-70.71353464299995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-06-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story house on Main Street and Sandwich Road in the center of Wareham, Massachusetts, built ca. 1825 as a late Federal-style residence and remodelled ca. 1870 with Second Empire features. The nominated area is half an acre in front of Tobey Hospital.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is architecturally significant as a combination of Federal-period plan and details with well-executed Second Empire additions, and the only Second Empire-style building in Wareham's center. It is historically significant for its association with the Tobey family, whose iron and nail manufacturing and philanthropy shaped Wareham's 19th-century development. It later became Wareham's hospital-related property.","narrative":"Overlooking the Wareham Narrows at the junction of Main Street and Sandwich Road, this three-story house began around 1825 as a five-bay, center-entry Federal residence built by Jared Pratt, a nail manufacturer. Around 1870, after the death of owner Joshua Briggs Tobey, it was remodelled with a dormered mansard roof, a columned entry portico, bays and a sun porch, giving it a Second Empire appearance while keeping its Federal plan, mantels, shutters and staircase. The Tobey family, whose Tremont Nail Company came to dominate local nail manufacturing, lived here for decades. Alice Tobey Jones left the property for use as Wareham's first hospital; instead it became a nurses' residence in 1940 beside a new hospital building. A 1985 fire burned part of the rear ell, and the house stood vacant. It is considered the only Second Empire building in Wareham's center and a waterfront landmark.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1825-1922","architect_builder":"Unknown (built ca. 1825 by Jared Pratt, according to the narrative)","architectural_style":"Federal with Second Empire remodelling","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Vacant and deteriorated after a 1985 fire damaged the rear ell and outbuildings; previously used as a nurses' residence from 1940 until 1985.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:02.202923-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/16/7966/63796616/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001219.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001219/243b9f7c83-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001219/243b9f7c83-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WarehamMA_TobeyHomestead.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:WarehamMA_TobeyHomestead.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796616","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobey_Homestead","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14715885"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/plymouth-county/tobey-homestead-86001219/"}