Fuller, Joseph, House
Also known as: Beach Brook Farm
Why it's listed
This house at 161 Essex Street in Middleton, Massachusetts, dates to about 1714-1722 and began as a one-room-deep, two-room-plan dwelling with a central chimney and two and a half stories. A rear lean-to with a "Beverly jog" and a gabled entry porch of about 1800 were added later. It faces southeast with its gable end toward the road, on a hilltop opposite a pond. Inside, the kitchen chamber has a beam with a plain narrow bevel and taper stop, showing the frame was meant to be seen, while the first-floor summer beam was designed to be boxed. The cellar holds a massive stone chimney base. Joseph Fuller, born in 1679 and son of Thomas Fuller, owned the land from 1699, and deeds first record the house in 1722. The house was listed for its architecture, as an example of the late transition from First to Second Period framing and the local use of a transverse binding summer beam.
Significance in brief: The house is significant for its architecture because it carries on a one-room-deep plan with an exposed, modestly decorated frame, placing it in the transition from the First to the Second Period of building. Its transverse first-floor binding beam used as the summer beam illustrates an unusual pattern that is concentrated in Middleton well into the eighteenth century.
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 90000244, listed March 9, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 161 Essex St., Middleton |
|---|---|
| County | Essex County |
| Listed | March 9, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90000244 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | First Period/Transitional |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition listed as good; present use is residence, with five 20th-century sheds and animal shelters on the property. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.61772, -71.03582 (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 90000244.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6283272
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.