{"nrhp_refnum":"89000699","name":"Sweetser, Michael, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"15 Nahant St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wakefield","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.497448889000054,"lon":-71.06889953199999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-07-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2½-story, five-bay clapboard Georgian vernacular dwelling at 15 Nahant Street, Wakefield, Massachusetts, built about 1755 (before 1775) by Michael Sweetser and later moved a short distance from its original site.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it an excellent, well-preserved example of local Georgian vernacular house design. It is also tied to the Sweetser family, including Paul Hart Sweetser, a 19th-century teacher, school board member and town figure. The Keeper's amendment lists it under criterion C only, as a Georgian vernacular house.","narrative":"This five-bay, 2½-story clapboard house at 15 Nahant Street in Wakefield is a local example of Georgian vernacular design. Michael Sweetser, the first of a respected family of Sweetsers, built it about 1755 on land that had been part of the original Smith farm. It has a gable roof with a boxed cornice, wide cornerboards, paired end windows and a central chimney, all typical of local building patterns. The door surround, with paneled pilasters, a simple entablature and long sidelights, was probably added during the Greek Revival period, about 1830-1850. A two-story Beverly jog addition, uncommon in Wakefield, was added later. The house was moved a short distance from its original site, around 1930, and remains a dwelling. A later descendant, Paul Hart Sweetser, trained as a shoemaker, became a Boston teacher, helped found the Massachusetts Teacher Association and served on the Wakefield School Board. The property was listed for its architecture.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Michael Sweetser (builder, about 1755)","architectural_style":"Georgian/Greek Revival (Georgian Vernacular)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Present use is a dwelling; it was moved about 1930 from its original site at Main and Nahant Streets.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.317631-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/32/7908/63790832/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89000699.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000699/fe28678836-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000699/fe28678836-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WakefieldMA_MichaelSweetserHouse.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:WakefieldMA_MichaelSweetserHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790832","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Sweetser_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6834724"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/sweetser-michael-house-89000699/"}