{"nrhp_refnum":"89000619","name":"Thompson, Abijah, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"81 Walnut St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Winchester","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.45106005500003,"lon":-71.13814290199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-07-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-and-a-half-story clapboard Gothic Revival house at 81 Walnut Street in Winchester, Massachusetts, built between about 1835 and 1850 by an unknown architect.","why_significant":"It is described as an unusual example of Gothic Revival, with a truncated central tower flanked by steeply pitched gabled wall dormers. It closely resembles period cottages in Newton. It also reflects the first residential development east of Winchester center as the town's population grew rapidly.","narrative":"This one-and-a-half-story clapboard house at 81 Walnut Street in Winchester, Massachusetts, was built between about 1835 and 1850 in the Gothic Revival style. The architect is unknown. A symmetrical three-bay facade centers on a double-leaf paneled entry flanked by full-length French windows. A truncated polygonal bay rises through the roofline and is flanked by steeply pitched gabled wall dormers. A pyramidal-roofed tower rises at the rear, and a one-story Tuscan porch crosses the front; both may be later additions. The house closely resembles period cottages in Newton and is similar to the neighboring house at 85 Walnut Street. Its first known owner, in 1854, was Abijah Thompson (1827-1912), a leather manufacturer active in Winchester civic life. He helped found the town's Masonic Lodge, served as vice-president of the Winchester Historical Society and started a local newspaper. The house is valued for its architecture and as evidence of early residential growth east of the town center.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Recorded as in good condition and in use as a dwelling, its original use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:00.99338-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/88/7916/63791688/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89000619.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000619/68bf9b0907-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000619/68bf9b0907-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WinchesterMA_AbijahThompsonHouse.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:WinchesterMA_AbijahThompsonHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791688","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abijah_Thompson_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4667737"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/thompson-abijah-house-89000619/"}