Jones, William R., House
Why it's listed
Built in 1865 at 307 Harvard Street in Cambridge, this wood-frame Mansard house was constructed for William R. Jones, a prosperous Boston soap manufacturer. Its curvilinear center gable holds an oculus window, a feature first seen in Cambridge at the Houghton House of 1857. Heavy ornament includes thick hood moldings, large paired brackets, curved-plate shingles on the mansard roof and an entrance porch with quadrant struts. The flush-boarded facade is scored to imitate ashlar masonry, and the cast iron fence in front is original. The house is one of three surviving Cambridge examples of a Mansard house with a curvilinear gable. It also records the growth of Harvard Street, which was promoted as a prestigious address for commuters to Boston and was divided into house lots from the former Dana estate in the 1830s. Only ten single-family homes survive on the street, and this is one of them.
Significance in brief: The house is one of three surviving Cambridge houses built in the Mansard style with a curvilinear facade gable. It is also a high-quality residence that reflects the early suburbanization of Cambridge and the development of Harvard Street and Dana Hill. It is one of only ten surviving single-family homes on Harvard Street.
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 83000813, listed June 30, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 307 Harvard St., Cambridge |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | June 30, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83000813 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Mansard |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as well-preserved, unaltered and unmoved, and in residential use at the time of the survey. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.37015, -71.10625 (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 83000813.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q8017231
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.