{"nrhp_refnum":"89002327","name":"Holland-Towne House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SR 32","address_restricted":false,"city":"Petersham","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.50054844050004,"lon":-72.1844495945954,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-08-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-and-a-half story, center-chimney Cape Cod style farmhouse built in 1752, with a vertically sheathed barn of about 1800 or earlier, on Massachusetts Route 32 in northern Petersham, Worcester County, Massachusetts.","why_significant":"The house is among Petersham's earliest surviving dwellings and a rare local example of mid-eighteenth-century domestic architecture. It survives with its fields, stone walls, barn and forest land intact, showing the region's agricultural development. It is also tied to the Holland family, who began brickmaking in town, and to brothers Luther and Park Holland, who took part in Shays's Rebellion.","narrative":"Built in 1752 on a rise in northern Petersham, this one-and-a-half story, center-chimney farmhouse is a well-preserved example of the Cape Cod form. It has hand-hewn, pegged timber framing, a fieldstone foundation and a three-bay south facade. Inside, the original plan survives, along with a sliding candle shelf, a built-in cupboard that held a fold-down bed, and wrought-iron ceiling eyes that probably supported a cradle or bed hangings. A vertically sheathed barn of about 1800 or earlier stands nearby, and hay is still cut in the surrounding meadows, which are bordered by early stone walls. The farm was established by Jonas Holland, whose family began the town's first brickmaking operation on the hill behind the house. His sons Park and Luther took part in Shays' Rebellion. The property is recognized for its agricultural history, its early architecture and its association with the Hollands, and about sixteen and a half acres are included.","period_of_significance":"1752 - 1939","architect_builder":"Holland, Jonas; Holland, Captain Park; Holland, Luther","architectural_style":"Colonial / Cape Cod","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Well maintained and occupied occasionally as a summer cottage; the barn houses farm machinery used for haying, and a preservation easement was donated in 1987.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.279654-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/52/7974/63797452/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89002327.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89002327/488a9e5dd9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89002327/488a9e5dd9-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PetershamMA_HollandTowneHouse.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:PetershamMA_HollandTowneHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63797452","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland%E2%80%93Towne_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5880849"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/holland-towne-house-89002327/"}