Merriam, Galen, House
Why it's listed
Set on a hillside overlooking West Newton village, this house at 102 Highland Street was built in the late 1840s in the Italianate style. It was apparently built for Galen Merriam, a Boston coal merchant who owned much of the land on both sides of Highland Street. After he moved to Nahant around 1877, large parts of the estate were sold for development, and the house and remaining land passed to George A. Frost, a principal in a Boston manufacturer of ladies' underwear. The clapboard house was originally oriented north toward the village center, with a three-bay facade, center gable with a round window, and an entrance with transom and sidelights. Eaves brackets and a long bracketed veranda on three sides provide its Italianate detailing, while peaked gable-level windows recall Gothic Revival design. A barn survives on the property. It was listed as a very well-preserved example of early Italianate residences on West Newton Hill.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is an elaborately detailed and well-preserved example of a large Italianate mansion on West Newton Hill, meeting criterion C. It also notes ties to Galen Merriam, a coal merchant who owned much of the land along Highland Street, and to later owner George A. Frost.
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 86001850, listed September 4, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 102 Highland St., Newton |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | September 4, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86001850 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | State, Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Recorded as in good condition, with no major alterations, not moved, and in present use as a residence. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.34593, -71.22538 (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 86001850.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14715484
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.