{"nrhp_refnum":"90000237","name":"Low, Thomas, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"36 Heartbreak Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ipswich","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.66373323400006,"lon":-70.82805840999998,"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 house at 36 Heartbreak Road in Ipswich, Massachusetts, built about 1700 with a First Period core and Federal vernacular exterior finishes. It is a 2 1/2-story, five-bay clapboarded dwelling on 1.1 acres.","why_significant":"The roof framing has distinctive First Period form and construction, which supports eligibility under Criterion C. Evidence such as a very wide chimney bay, wide summer beam boxes and gable-end overhangs suggests the concealed structure is also First Period, so the house is likely to yield information about early construction in the Ipswich area under Criterion D. The brick arch chimney foundation is an early example of its type.","narrative":"Built around 1700 on Heartbreak Road in Ipswich, this clapboarded house began as a double-cell, one-room-deep structure and is now five bays wide and 2 1/2 stories tall. Later work includes a lean-to added in the late 18th century, Federal-style trim, Victorian details such as a bay window, and an east wing rebuilt in 1981. Much of its earliest framing is hidden behind later finishes, but the attic retains six sets of original principal rafters with collar beams, and a chamfered chimney post survives in a closet. A ten-foot chimney bay, wide summer beam boxes, a steep roof pitch and gable overhangs all point to First Period construction. In the cellar, a broad brick arch set on fieldstone walls forms the chimney foundation, an early example of this technique. A deed of 1708 first mentions the house, when John Low conveyed it to his brother Thorndike. Its framing and likely hidden fabric make it significant for early construction in the Ipswich area.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"First Period core with Federal vernacular exterior finishes","criteria":["C","D"],"status_note":"Condition described 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 02:13:05.061316-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/55/7898/63789855/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000237.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000237/473f54b8e8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000237/473f54b8e8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IpswichMA_ThomasLowHouse.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:IpswichMA_ThomasLowHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789855","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Low_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7791942"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/low-thomas-house-90000237/"}