Emerson House
Why it's listed
This 2 1/2 story, five-bay clapboarded house on Pentucket Street in Haverhill dates to about 1730 and was moved to its present site between 1857 and 1859. Its original single-room-plan portion is the right-hand part of the building, with a two-story lean-to at the rear left. Inside, the first-floor room has a chamfered summer beam with lamb's tongue stops, chamfered joists, and a paneled chimney breast over a filled-in fireplace. A ship's knee brace strengthens the front corner, an unusual feature in early Massachusetts houses. Evidence in the framing shows some members were boxed while others stayed exposed, a sign of a transitional house between the First and Second Periods. The left side was probably added by Nehemiah Emerson after 1787 and has Federal trim and fragments of c. 1840 wallpaper. The house was listed for the integrity of its late First Period frame and Second Period fireplace wall finish. It is now used as a two-family residence in good condition.
Significance in brief: The house is described as a transitional late First Period frame with a contemporary Second Period fireplace wall finish, and it keeps its integrity of design, materials and workmanship under criterion C. Framing members were originally a mix of boxed and exposed chamfered pieces, which is typical of transitional houses. The ship's knee brace is an unusual feature worth further study.
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 90000229, listed March 9, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 5--9 Pentucket St., Haverhill |
|---|---|
| County | Essex County |
| Listed | March 9, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90000229 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Transitional First Period |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition described as good; present use is two-family residential. A two-story front porch seen in an 1898 photograph has been removed. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.77894, -71.07936 (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 90000229.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5370893
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.