Washburn, Samuel, House
Why it's listed
Built around 1860 at 68 Winthrop Street in Taunton, this square, two-story house of stone blocks follows the Italian Villa model more closely than any other high-style Italianate building on the street. Its walls are stuccoed and scored, and a very low-pitched hipped roof appears flat from eye level. A bold, semi-circular-arched doorway holds a cast-iron foliate screen in the transom, and the tall six-over-six windows have hoods carried on ancons. A broad box cornice and projecting eaves shade a frieze with attic windows on the side elevations. Salmon Washburn, who ran a furniture, housewares and hardware business on Main Street, had it built, and his sons later continued the firm. The doorway resembles one at 101 Somerset Avenue, which may point to the carpenter Abel Burt. The house was listed for its well-preserved, locally unique Italianate design and for what it shows of the comfortable homes of Taunton's prosperous middle class.
Significance in brief: The house is the closest example on Winthrop Street to true Italian Villa architecture, with a square plan and stuccoed walls. It meets criterion C for its excellent preservation and the locally unique character of its spare Italianate design. It also reflects the quality of domestic construction affordable to Taunton's upper middle class in its most economically stable period.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 84002258, listed July 5, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 68 Winthrop St., Taunton |
|---|---|
| County | Bristol County |
| Listed | July 5, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84002258 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Italian Villa / Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Recorded in 1979 as unaltered and unmoved, with no outbuildings; in use as a gift shop and residence. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 41.89746, -71.09738 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 84002258.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7412890
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.