{"nrhp_refnum":"86001333","name":"Jones Tavern","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"128 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Acton","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.46072765400004,"lon":-71.45529127199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-06-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A sprawling clapboarded tavern and house at 128 South Main Street in South Acton, Massachusetts, built in 1732 by Samuel Jones and enlarged in five phases through 1878.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the best preserved and perhaps most fully developed vernacular example of the Federal style in Acton. It is tied to South Acton's growth from an agricultural village into a commercial center by the mid 19th century. It is also associated with the Jones family, whose five generations of activity largely drove that growth.","narrative":"Jones Tavern is a rambling clapboarded building at the corner of Main and Railroad Streets in South Acton, Massachusetts. Its core is a two-story, five-bay house raised in 1732 by Samuel Jones. About 1750 a lean-to was added to hold a tavern and store. In 1818 his son Aaron more than doubled the building with a large rear block and kitchen ell, adding Federal-style door and window surrounds. A third-story ell moved from elsewhere in Acton came about 1845, and part of the north ell was removed in 1878. Inside, the Federal woodwork, painted floor cloth, early wallpaper fragments and later Greek Revival rooms survive. The property matters for its architecture and for the Jones family, who ran the mills, store and tavern around Mill Corner over five generations. Their enterprises helped turn South Acton from farmland into the town's commercial center, a role reinforced by the railroad's arrival in 1844.","period_of_significance":"1732-1926","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Federal (vernacular), with Greek Revival interior work","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Altered building; listed as occupied, with present uses of museum and private residence. It was divided into four apartments in 1959 and damaged by a lightning fire in 1967.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.726743-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/88/7956/63795688/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001333.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001333/779984b460-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001333/779984b460-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jones_Tavern,_South_Acton_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jones_Tavern,_South_Acton_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795688","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jones_Tavern","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6275307"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/jones-tavern-86001333/"}