{"nrhp_refnum":"90000205","name":"Putnam, James, Jr., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"42 Summer St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Danvers","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.576009113000055,"lon":-70.94892125199993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-03-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-a-half-story shingled residence at 42 Summer Street in Danvers, Essex County, Massachusetts. The original double-cell house dates to about 1715, with a southern addition and gambrel roof added about 1780.","why_significant":"The house keeps an intact First Period frame with an unusual post form that combines features of the jowl and the flare. It is also notable for the c. 1780 enlargement that gave a First Period house the form of a Second Period double-pile house. Its residents included James Putnam Jr., Dr. Archelaus Putnam and Col. Timothy Pickering, who leased it from 1802 to 1804.","narrative":"Built about 1715 by James Putnam Jr. for his father, this house at 42 Summer Street in Danvers began as a four-room, double-cell dwelling. Its exposed framing shows chamfered summer beams with simple triangular stops, and the second-floor posts have an unusual shape that is neither a true flare nor a true jowl. Around 1780 Archelaus Putnam, a physician and Danvers selectman, added a file of rooms to the south with a central hall, rear fireplaces and a broad gambrel roof. The addition has raised-panel fireplace walls, molded chair rails, cornices and a turned-baluster staircase. The result was an uncommon house form that approximates a Second Period double-pile house. Col. Timothy Pickering, who had served as Secretary of War and Secretary of State, leased the property from 1802 to 1804 and carried out farming experiments here. The building is recognized for its architectural integrity and its association with these figures. It remains a residence in good condition.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect unknown; built by James Putnam Jr. (yeoman and brickbuilder), per local records","architectural_style":"First Period core; Second Period envelope","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Condition listed as good; present use is residential.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.530726-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/58/7900/63790058/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000205.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000205/a631528e74-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000205/a631528e74-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Fletcher6","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:James_Putnam_Jr._House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Fletcher6</a>, <a href=\"https://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:James_Putnam_Jr._House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790058","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Putnam_Jr._House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6141507"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/putnam-james-jr-house-90000205/"}