{"nrhp_refnum":"89001299","name":"Ireland, Samuel, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"117 Washington","address_restricted":false,"city":"Somerville","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.38131185000003,"lon":-71.08694287399999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-09-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1 1/2 story, five-bay, shingle-clad cottage at 117 Washington Street in the Cobble Hill area of far eastern Somerville, Massachusetts, built about 1792 and probably constructed by farmer Samuel Ireland.","why_significant":"It is described as the only documentable 18th century residence in the Cobble Hill area and one of the earliest surviving houses in Somerville. It keeps its original plan and modest decorative detailing, including narrow original moldings at the eaves and window frames. It is judged significant under Criterion C at the local level.","narrative":"Built about 1792, this small shingled cottage at 117 Washington Street in far eastern Somerville is one of the city's earliest surviving houses. Samuel Ireland, a farmer and grandson of Jonathan Ireland, probably built it. The one-and-a-half story house has a five-bay facade that reflects its original arrangement of doors, and narrow strips of early molding remain at the eaves and around the window frames. Later changes include twentieth century replacement windows and dormers, yet the building keeps its original plan and modest detailing. It is the only documentable eighteenth century house in the Cobble Hill area. When it was built, Cobble Hill was a rise of rock running south from Washington Street onto the flats of the Miller's River estuary. Washington Street was a busy route between Charlestown and Cambridge, and the road to Joseph Barrell's estate on Cobble Hill, later the McLean Asylum, began opposite the house. It is considered locally significant for its architecture.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Samuel Ireland (probable builder); architect: none","architectural_style":"Cape-style cottage","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Recorded in good condition, in present use as a residence, not moved; 20th century window replacements and dormers noted.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:00.70452-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/35/7906/63790635/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89001299.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001299/2eebece902-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001299/2eebece902-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SomervilleMA_SamuelIrelandHouse.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:SomervilleMA_SamuelIrelandHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790635","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Ireland_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7411778"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/ireland-samuel-house-89001299/"}