House at 113 Salem Street
Why it's listed
This small house at 113 Salem Street in Wakefield began as a shoe shop, built between about 1840 and 1857. It is a 1½-story clapboard building with a high peaked gable roof whose ridge runs parallel to the street. Three bays are squeezed into the narrow front, with the door in the first bay. A one-story ell sits on very high brick foundations, and a basement door suggests the lower level was used for storage. Later additions and conversion to a residence left its original simplicity largely intact. The shop belonged to David Nichols, a shoemaker who lived at 103 Salem Street according to an 1857 map. Before the McKay sewing machine reached Wakefield in 1862, many residents made shoes in yard shops like this one, with family members dividing the work. Manufacturers marketed the finished shoes in Boston. The building is valued as a local example of that cottage industry and building form.
Significance in brief: The building is a well-preserved example of the small shoe shops that once dotted the south and west sides of Wakefield. It represents the town's 19th-century cottage industry of shoemaking. It was nominated under criteria A and C at the local level.
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 89000688, listed July 6, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 113 Salem St., Wakefield |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | July 6, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89000688 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Mid-19th century vernacular |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Currently used as a dwelling; condition listed as fair. |
| Acreage | 0.4 |
| Coordinates | 42.51119, -71.06607 (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 89000688.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5913879
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.