Brooks, Charles, House
Why it's listed
Perched on a small hill about eight feet above High Street in Medford, this 2½-story house was built around 1780-1790 and is a focal point for approaches to Judkins Square. It is a brick-end house: clapboard front and back, red painted brick ends, paired end chimneys, a five-bay facade, a dentiled cornice and wooden quoins. Much of the interior survives, including Federal and Greek Revival changes. It is one of only two such houses left in Medford, a type modeled on the Isaac Royal House of the 1730s. The house is also tied to Charles Brooks, who bought it in 1839 and lived there periodically until 1872. He promoted state boards of education and teachers' colleges in Massachusetts and wrote the History of Medford. Later, Sarah Warner Brooks lived here from 1892 to 1906 and wrote A Garden with House Attached about its gardens. Traces of those gardens and the famous lilacs remain.
Significance in brief: It is one of the last two surviving brick-end houses in Medford, a style popular there in the eighteenth century and based on the Isaac Royal House prototype. It is also associated with Charles Brooks, a nineteenth-century educational reformer and author, and with the writer Sarah Warner Brooks.
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 75000269, listed June 18, 1975. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 309 High St., Medford |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | June 18, 1975 |
| Reference number | 75000269 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | C. 1780-1790 |
| Architectural style | Elements of Georgian and Federal |
| Areas of significance | Literature, Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as in good to excellent condition, altered, and occupied as a private residence with a dental office; the original site is retained. |
| Acreage | 0.8 |
| Coordinates | 42.42188, -71.12402 (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 75000269.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5075819
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.