{"nrhp_refnum":"89001581","name":"French, Daniel, School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"38--40 Common St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Waltham","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.377580014000046,"lon":-71.23694312099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-09-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1 1/2-story, wood-frame Greek Revival cottage at 38-40 Common Street, Waltham, Massachusetts, built in 1847 as a private schoolhouse and converted to a residence around 1859-60.","why_significant":"It reflects the growth of Waltham's town center in the mid-19th century and is a well-preserved vernacular Greek Revival cottage with features from both its school and residential uses. It is also tied to Daniel French, a local educator, public servant and activist, who built and ran the school in its first decade.","narrative":"Standing at 38-40 Common Street in Waltham, this small Greek Revival cottage began in 1847 as a private schoolhouse. Daniel French, a mathematics teacher born in 1814, came to Waltham in 1842, served as high school principal, and started his own school in 1844. He bought land on Common Street and built the schoolhouse, which opened on June 21, 1847. After losing a leg in 1858 he stopped teaching, became a lawyer, served as town clerk, and represented Waltham in the General Court in 1861. He was an abolitionist and a temperance leader. In 1859 he sold the building to a grocer, and it became a residence around 1860. The wood-frame building faces the street with its gable end and has clapboard siding, paneled corner pilasters and a cornice. Two long first-story windows may have replaced earlier entries. Later additions include two bays on the side and gabled dormers. It now serves as a two-family home.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect unknown; appears to have been built by Daniel French","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Present use is a two-family residence; condition described as fair; 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 02:13:00.768883-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/6/7917/63791706/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89001581.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001581/c973c547c5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001581/c973c547c5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WalthamMA_DanielFrenchSchool.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:WalthamMA_DanielFrenchSchool.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791706","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_French_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5217203"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/french-daniel-school-89001581/"}