House at 5 Bennett Street
Why it's listed
Built between about 1875 and 1881, this clapboard house at 5 Bennett Street sits in Wakefield's Junction District, facing the railroad tracks behind a low granite wall. Its Italianate details include paneled pilasters and arched gable windows. An 1882 view shows a smaller cross-gabled form, so the twin gables and the central door and verandah likely came with a later expansion. The most distinctive feature is the Queen Anne porch, with lathe-turned posts and balusters and jigsaw-cut brackets, regarded as the neighborhood's best example. The house may have been built for Marcus Simpson of the Wakefield Rattan Company. In 1894 it was bought by the Wakefield Home for Aged Women, a charitable group of Protestant townspeople, and it has been a retirement home since. In 1921 it was renamed for Elizabeth Boit, a local businesswoman and co-owner of a knitting mill. The street grew as rail-driven industry drew workers to the area.
Significance in brief: The house is one of the largest and most elaborate in the Junction District, and its later porch is the best example of Queen Anne decoration in the neighborhood. It also reflects the town's industrial growth after the railroad arrived, and its long use as a charitable home for aged women, named for Elizabeth Boit.
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 89000698, listed July 6, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 5 Bennett St., Wakefield |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | July 6, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89000698 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Italianate (with a later Queen Anne porch) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition described as good; present use is the E. Boit Home for Aged Women. |
| Acreage | 0.8 |
| Coordinates | 42.49979, -71.06886 (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 89000698.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14715591
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.