{"nrhp_refnum":"90000234","name":"House on Labor-in-Vain Road","other_names":["Belosellsky House","Bellosellski House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Labor in Vain Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ipswich","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.67795890700006,"lon":-70.80553119999996,"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, one-room-deep clapboarded frame house on Labor-in-Vain Road in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts, built after 1720 with a late First Period frame and Second Period finish. It sits isolated on a private road overlooking salt marsh, within a large estate.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house retains integrity and embodies distinctive construction: a chamfered frame combined with early Second Period turned balusters shows how rural craftsmen gradually adopted Renaissance-inspired decoration (Criterion C). Compared with the nearby Smith House, it is likely to yield information on carpentry practices in Ipswich during the transitional period (Criterion D). Its chimney post with stops at both ends of the chamfer is a rare variant.","narrative":"This house on Labor-in-Vain Road in Ipswich is a five-bay, one-room-deep, 2 1/2-story clapboarded dwelling dated after 1720. Its exposed frame in the right-hand room and chamber has flat chamfers with lamb's tongue stops, and the chimney post carries a rare extra stop at the floor end. The staircase has a handrail molded on both sides and turned balusters in an early Second Period profile, nearly matching those in the Smith House at 142 Argilla Road. Together these features show rural craftsmen blending older framing traditions with newer decorative fashions. Later changes include a side ell of about 1810, a raised lean-to dormer, and rear wings added when the building served as a country club house in the 20th century. Early 20th-century restoration opened the right-hand room to the lean-to. The house was listed for its architectural character and for what it can reveal about local carpentry in a transitional period. It stands in a private, rural setting overlooking salt marsh.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"1st Period core, 2nd Period finish; late Second Period Vernacular exterior trim","criteria":["C","D"],"status_note":"Present use is residence; condition listed 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 02:13:04.344877-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/65/7898/63789865/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000234.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000234/1f93250dd6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000234/1f93250dd6-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IpswichMA_LaborInVainHouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Magicpiano</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IpswichMA_LaborInVainHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789865","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_on_Labor-in-Vain_Road","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5915665"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/house-on-labor-in-vain-road-90000234/"}