{"nrhp_refnum":"90000263","name":"French-Andrews House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"86 Howlett Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Topsfield","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.64274404400004,"lon":-70.93795385399994,"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 2 1/2-story, five-bay, one-room-deep frame house at 86 Howlett Road in Topsfield, Massachusetts, built about 1718 in the late First Period style, with a 1919 lean-to and a 1950s rear ell.","why_significant":"The house is significant under Criterion C for its late First Period frame and finish. Its massive frame, deeply jowled corner posts and interior door posts framed into chimney girts link it to the earliest Massachusetts houses. It also keeps original finish in place, including feather-edged sheathing and fireplace trim. It is tied to the early preservation movement through its 1919 restoration under George Francis Dow.","narrative":"Built around 1718 on a rural site along Howlett Road in Topsfield, this five-bay, two-and-a-half-story frame house was originally a double-cell, central-chimney dwelling. A single-cell house owned by John French Sr. stood on the site in 1693, and the present house is thought to have been built after Joseph Andrews of Boxford acquired the property in 1718. Its heavy frame, with summer and tie beams about 8 by 12 inches, resembles the Parson Capen house of 1683. Deeply jowled corner posts echo other Topsfield houses, and interior door posts framed into chimney girts reflect a conservative technique descended from English practice. Original finish survives in places, notably the wide feather-edged boards in the right-hand chamber and the fireplace trim in the left-hand room. In 1919 George Francis Dow directed a restoration for Thomas Emerson Proctor that exposed the framing and added matching sheathing, lead-glazed casement windows and a rebuilt chimney. The house is considered notable for both its early framing and its place in early preservation work.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect unknown; restored in 1919 under George Francis Dow for Thomas Emerson Proctor","architectural_style":"First Period","criteria":["C"],"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 02:13:04.262792-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/26/7900/63790026/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000263.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000263/8732240d29-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000263/8732240d29-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:French-Andrews_House,_Topsfield_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:French-Andrews_House,_Topsfield_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790026","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French%E2%80%93Andrews_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5501659"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/french-andrews-house-90000263/"}