{"nrhp_refnum":"90000245","name":"Adams, Abraham, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"8 Pearson Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newbury","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.75493573700004,"lon":-70.92800836199996,"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 First Period house built around 1704 at 8 Pearson Drive in the Byfield section of Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts. It is a two-story, five-bay, double-cell, central-chimney dwelling with later rear additions.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house retains integrity of location, setting, design, materials, workmanship, association and feeling. Its steeply pitched roof, chamfered oak roof frame and exposed, simply decorated interior framing embody several patterns of First Period form and construction, making it eligible under Criterion C.","narrative":"Built around 1704 in the Byfield section of Newbury, this two-story, five-bay house with a central chimney is a First Period dwelling. Its roof pitch is a steep 50 degrees, and the roof frame is oak with chamfered members in a principal rafter and purlin system. Inside, the all-oak framing is exposed in three of the four main rooms, with flat chamfers and lamb's tongue stops on the summer beams. Bridled scarf joints show the house was built in one campaign. A later ell at the rear has corner fireplaces and Second Period overmantel panels. The land was acquired between 1705 and 1707 by Abraham Adams, a sea captain, early shipbuilder and successful farmer who was the third highest taxpayer in Byfield. The farm was once known as High Fields because of its surrounding hay fields, though part of it now holds a new subdivision. The house was recognized for its architectural integrity and early construction.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"First Period","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Listed as in good condition and in residential use, with a 19th-century barn and sheds and 20th-century additions; it now sits within a late-1980s subdivision.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.048645-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/14/7900/63790014/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000245.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000245/ff93606c5a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000245/ff93606c5a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Wayne Marshall Chase","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abraham_adams_house_040812_(100)_101)_99)_hdr.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Wayne Marshall Chase</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:Abraham_adams_house_040812_(100)_101)_99)_hdr.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790014","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Adams_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4668734"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/adams-abraham-house-90000245/"}