{"nrhp_refnum":"90000269","name":"Perkins, John, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"75 Arbor St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wenham","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.61358888800004,"lon":-70.88815892099996,"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 late First Period frame house at 75 Arbor Street in Wenham, Massachusetts, built about 1710-1720, with a later left-hand addition and lean-to and a small 19th-century barn on a 6.76-acre property.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house keeps integrity of location, design, materials and workmanship in its late First Period frame, which is representative of early 18th-century framing with meager decoration and slim timbers (Criterion C). The added second cell and lean-to show typical First Period growth patterns, though the transverse summer beam is atypical. The front wall may also hold rare evidence of a two-story porch (Criterion D).","narrative":"Built around 1710-1720 at 75 Arbor Street in Wenham, this five-bay clapboarded house began as a single-cell dwelling and was enlarged within a generation by a second room and a lean-to. Simple Colonial Revival trim, including an open pedimented porch, covers an early frame. Inside, exposed chamfered beams, girts and posts survive in several rooms, and the roof framing of principal rafters and purlins shows that the two added bays were built in a separate campaign. The frame is considered typical of early 18th-century work in its slim timbers and sparse decoration, while a transverse summer beam and differing room depths are unusual and may reflect reused timbers. A late 19th-century photograph shows a two-story porch with an overhanging upper floor, and chamfering on a beam edge hints it may have been original. The property was a large farm until about 1900, and a 19th-century barn remains on the landscaped grounds.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"First Period core with Colonial Revival exterior","criteria":["C","D"],"status_note":"Condition described as good; present use is residence, as it was originally.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.811891-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/51/7898/63789851/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000269.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000269/610e9424c1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000269/610e9424c1-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Unknown authorUnknown author","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WenhamMA_JohnPerkinsHouse_1892.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown authorUnknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WenhamMA_JohnPerkinsHouse_1892.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789851","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Perkins_House_(Wenham,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6252574"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/perkins-john-house-90000269/"}