{"nrhp_refnum":"90000239","name":"Hart House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"172 Chestnut St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lynnfield","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.540611288000036,"lon":-71.06241017199994,"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, three-bay, central-chimney plank-frame house at 172 Chestnut Street, Lynnfield, Massachusetts, built between about 1695 and 1720 in the First Period style, with a rear lean-to added early in the 18th century.","why_significant":"The house keeps its integrity of location, design, materials and workmanship in late First Period frame and plank construction, which supports eligibility under Criterion C. Its paired transverse summer beams are an unusual local framing variant centered in Salem. Further study of such buildings could yield information about early framing techniques, supporting Criterion D. The plank frame may be linked to a local sawmill.","narrative":"Located at 172 Chestnut Street in Lynnfield, this house is a late First Period dwelling dating from roughly 1695 to 1720. It has three bays, two and a half stories, a central chimney and plank frame construction, with a rear lean-to added early in the 18th century. Although a house had been documented on the site since the 1670s, the present building was probably erected by John Hiram Perkins, who owned the land from 1694 to 1719. John Hart, a tanner from Danvers, bought it in 1838, and his family kept it until 1945. Despite termite damage and extensive restoration, the main rooms retain flat-chamfered summers, girts and posts, butt-cog joists and a restored fireplace with a beehive oven. Paired transverse summer beams, a feature common in nearby Salem, mark an unusual local framing variant. The house was valued for its surviving early construction and for what it can reveal about early framing methods and the possible role of a local sawmill.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Probably built by John Hiram Perkins, owner 1694-1719; no architect","architectural_style":"First Period","criteria":["C","D"],"status_note":"Condition described as good; restored with new clapboards, wood-shingled roof and casement windows; used as a residence.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.538751-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/31/7898/63789831/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000239.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000239/067bb3288e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000239/067bb3288e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hart_House,_Lynnfield_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:Hart_House,_Lynnfield_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789831","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hart_House_(Lynnfield,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5674176"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/hart-house-90000239/"}