{"nrhp_refnum":"90000186","name":"Browne, Abraham, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"562 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Watertown","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.37225345100006,"lon":-71.20044073599996,"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 two-story First Period house at 562 Main Street in Watertown, Massachusetts, built about 1694-1701 for Capt. Abraham Browne, with a post-1727 addition, a 19th-century lean-to and two barns.","why_significant":"The house is an outstanding example of the single-cell original plan with rare First Period construction and decorative features, including the only known in-situ three-part casement opening in Massachusetts. It is one of the most complete First Period houses in the county and retains tusk-tenon joists, molded sheathing, painted plaster decoration and original hardware. Its 1919-20 restoration by William Sumner Appleton is also cited as an outstanding example of early twentieth-century restoration philosophy.","narrative":"Built between about 1694 and 1701 for Capt. Abraham Browne, this two-story, single-cell house on Main Street in Watertown is a rare surviving example of First Period construction in eastern Massachusetts. It retains a transverse summer beam, tusk-tenon floor joists, molded horizontal sheathing, original plaster laid directly over brick nogging, painted decoration and wrought hinges. A three-part casement window in the rear wall is the only known example in Massachusetts still in its original position. A large central-chimney addition, made after 1727, reflects Second Period building. In 1919 the property passed to the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. William Sumner Appleton restored it in 1919-20 with Joseph Everett Chandler and Norman Isham, and the work revealed unusual information about early construction methods. The site also includes the c. 1800 Derby Barn, attributed to Samuel McIntire and moved from the Elias Hasket Derby estate in 1925. The house is listed for its architecture and its potential for further research.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect unknown; the Derby Barn is attributed to Samuel McIntire","architectural_style":"First Period","criteria":["C","D"],"status_note":"Present use is museum/residence; condition is described as excellent but altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.59371-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/5/7904/63790405/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000186.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000186/fa28ee2d32-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000186/fa28ee2d32-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daderot","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Browne_House_-_Watertown,_Massachusetts.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Daderot</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Browne_House_-_Watertown,_Massachusetts.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790405","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browne_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14715423"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/browne-abraham-house-90000186/"}