{"nrhp_refnum":"89000720","name":"Boit, Elizabeth, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"127 Chestnut St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wakefield","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.503174312000056,"lon":-71.08588349399997,"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 c. 1911 English Cottage style dwelling at 127 Chestnut Street in Wakefield, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, designed by local architect Harland O. Perkins. It sits on a hill on a 1-3/4 acre lot.","why_significant":"The house is an extremely well preserved example of the English Cottage style and keeps its integrity. It was built by Elizabeth Boit, a co-founder of the Harvard Knitting Mills, a major local industry. It is the focus of Wakefield's only family residential compound and the only surviving home of a Wakefield manufacturer.","narrative":"Built around 1911 at 127 Chestnut Street in Wakefield, this stucco house is a well preserved example of the English Cottage style. Local architect Harland O. Perkins designed it, along with the neighboring houses at 88 and 90 Prospect Street, drawing on the work of C.F.A. Voysey. It has a tripartite angled plan, two and a half stories, a tile roof supported by heavy brackets, and a portico with a Neo-Georgian surround. The house was built by Elizabeth Boit, born in 1848, who co-founded the Harvard Knitting Mills, a key part of Wakefield's economy from 1889. She handled the business side, supported progressive employee relations, and was the first woman to serve as a bank director. The house and its neighbors formed a family compound with a landscaped inner court, a playhouse and greenhouses. It is the only remaining home of a Wakefield manufacturer, as the mansions of Cyrus Wakefield and S.O. Richardson have been destroyed.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Harland O. Perkins (architect)","architectural_style":"English Cottage Style","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Present use is dwelling; condition listed as good with no major alterations and no outbuildings.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.599801-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/1/7907/63790701/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89000720.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000720/0c76a7c2b8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000720/0c76a7c2b8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elizabeth_Boit_House,_Wakefield_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:Elizabeth_Boit_House,_Wakefield_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790701","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Boit_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14715455"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/boit-elizabeth-house-89000720/"}