Bassett, Maria, House
Also known as: #11
Why it's listed
Built around 1850 as a farmhouse, this Italianate house at 8 College Avenue in Arlington sits on a hillside with a view of the Mystic Lakes. It remains a residence today. The building is described as the grandest of the remaining Italianate houses in the area. Heavy double brackets, dentil courses and boldly molded window surrounds mark it as a well-executed example of the style. A polygonal bay with a flat roof on paired brackets projects from the side, and a single-story porch wraps the front and side, decorated with brackets, dentils, paired columns and turned spindles. The porch and balcony may have been added or slightly altered later. Twentieth-century asbestos siding covers the exterior. The house is one of the earliest in Arlington's northwest corner, an area that did not fully develop until the 1920s and 1930s. The hills above the lakes were known for dairy farming in the later nineteenth century, and the house may have been tied to that activity. It was listed for its architecture.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it the grandest of the remaining Italianate houses in the area, with well-executed details such as heavy double brackets, dentil courses and boldly molded window surrounds. It is also one of the earliest houses in Arlington's northwest corner, which did not fully develop until the 1920s and 1930s. It may have been associated with the dairy farming known on the hills above the lakes.
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 85002681, listed September 27, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 8 College Ave., Arlington |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | September 27, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85002681 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Present use is residential; originally a farmhouse. Twentieth-century asbestos siding is the major alteration noted. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.42790, -71.15328 (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 85002681.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6761044
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.