Buck, Charles, House
Why it's listed
Built around 1880 at 68 Pleasant Street in Stoneham, this two-story house follows the traditional Italianate form. It has a three-bay facade with a center entry flanked by bay windows, double entry doors under a porch linking the two bays, a steep pitched roof, twin interior chimneys, and windows with projecting lintels and 2/2 sash. Aluminum siding covers the walls, yet the house keeps an intact setting on a hilly terraced lot with a granite retaining wall. It was home to Charles Buck, a Stoneham businessman from the Civil War years until the 1890s, who ran a wholesale hide business in Boston and kept a meat and provision store in Central Square. The property once belonged to the Gould family, and the town's first meeting house (1726) and school (about 1718) were built on this site. Its architecture, its link to Buck, and its early town center location support its listing under criterion A.
Significance in brief: The form describes it as a good example of a traditional Italianate house with an intact setting in the town's original settlement area. It is also tied to local businessman Charles Buck and sits on the early town center site where the first meeting house and school stood. It is stated to meet criterion A.
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 84002527, listed April 13, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 68 Pleasant St., Stoneham |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | April 13, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84002527 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Used as a private residence; the exterior has been sided in aluminum, and a weathered clapboard barn stands at the rear. |
| Acreage | 0.4 |
| Coordinates | 42.47945, -71.09288 (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 84002527.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5075859
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.