{"nrhp_refnum":"87000235","name":"Goodspeed House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"271 River Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Barnstable","county":"Barnstable County","state":"MA","lat":41.65913825800004,"lon":-70.41897250999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-03-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national","state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1½-story, five-bay vernacular cottage with a center chimney at 271 River Road in Marstons Mills (Barnstable), Massachusetts, traditionally dated to about 1653. It has a rear ell and a barn, and is still used as a dwelling.","why_significant":"The form argues the house is the oldest in Marstons Mills and one of the oldest in Barnstable, tied to Roger Goodspeed, considered the village's first settler. It is also valued as an intact example of vernacular architecture and for its long association with the Goodspeed family. It is marked as meeting criteria A, B and C.","narrative":"Built traditionally around 1653, this five-bay, 1½-story cottage at 271 River Road is considered the oldest house in Marstons Mills and among the oldest in all of Barnstable. It has a gable roof, a center chimney, shingled walls, 6/6 sash windows and a rear ell reaching toward a barn. The lopsided facade suggests it began as a three-bay half Cape, and low-set windows point to knee-wall construction. The house is linked to Roger Goodspeed, who arrived in Barnstable in 1639 and received a six-acre house lot near the river in 1653, making him the probable first settler of the area. The river and the small settlement were once called Goodspeed's. The property passed from father to son through several generations of the family. It was recognized for its associations with the village's settlement, the Goodspeed family and Roger Goodspeed, and for its intact vernacular architecture. It remains a dwelling in good condition with no major alterations.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Vernacular cottage","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Present use is a dwelling; condition is described as good, with no major alterations and not moved.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.352558-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/97/7891/63789197/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/87000235.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87000235/1311ab8612-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87000235/1311ab8612-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Goodspeed_House,_Marstons_Mills_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Goodspeed_House,_Marstons_Mills_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789197","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodspeed_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5583616"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/barnstable-county/goodspeed-house-87000235/"}