{"nrhp_refnum":"90000176","name":"Putnam, Rev. Daniel, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"27 Bow St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"North Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.574292025000034,"lon":-71.07728896199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-03-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2 1/2 story, five-bay, central-chimney plank-frame house at 27 Bow Street, North Reading, Massachusetts, built about 1720 by the North Parish for its new minister, Rev. Daniel Putnam. It is now a museum.","why_significant":"The house keeps its late First Period plank frame and interior finish, including one fully intact room with original plaster and whitewash, which is eligible under Criterion C. Its plank-wall construction is an unusual Massachusetts Bay framing alternative. The surviving parish specifications for the house, and later changes to them, show what was considered a suitable minister's dwelling. Concealed framing may yield further information under Criterion D.","narrative":"Built around 1720 at 27 Bow Street in North Reading, this clapboard house was raised by the town's North Parish as part of the settlement agreement for its first settled minister, Rev. Daniel Putnam. Putnam served the old Reading parish for 39 years, and his descendants occupied the house until 1962. The core is a plank-frame structure, enlarged to its present five-bay, 2 1/2 story form in the late 18th or early 19th century, with a rear shed added about 1820. Its interior mixes First and Second Period finish. The second-floor southeast chamber keeps complete First Period work, including original whitewash and plaster. Parish records of 1718 and 1719 give the intended dimensions and the permission to alter the plan, offering unusual insight into how a proposal became a building. The plank walls may reflect nearby sawn lumber, since a sawmill operated in North Reading by 1701. The chimney was restored in 1972, and the house now serves as a museum.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Built by the North Parish of Reading; no architect","architectural_style":"First Period (transitional)","criteria":["C","D"],"status_note":"Present use is a museum; condition described as excellent.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.056574-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/15/7904/63790415/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000176.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000176/34ab44ea7a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000176/34ab44ea7a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rev._Daniel_Putnam_House,_North_Reading_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:Rev._Daniel_Putnam_House,_North_Reading_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790415","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rev._Daniel_Putnam_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7317672"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/putnam-rev-daniel-house-90000176/"}