Smith, Marshall, House
Why it's listed
Set on Liberty Street in Waltham, this clapboard house rises two and a half stories to a gable roof and shows the Greek Revival style in a modest, vernacular form. Built probably in 1846 or 1847, it has a side-wall plan with a symmetrical five-bay facade, a double entry, original 6/6 sash windows, a pedimented attic, a plain entablature, cornerboards, a brick foundation and a full porch with fluted Doric columns. The north bay, the porch balustrade and the long west ell are likely later additions. Marshall Smith, a chair and harness maker, probably built it and owned it for about a year. Later owners included Stephen Stone, whose debts led to an auction, and Phebe Foster, a widow who acquired it in 1865; the Foster family stayed until about 1912. Patrick J. Healy, a teamster, then bought it. The house is valued as one of few of its type in the city and as evidence of how this area housed workers and small businessmen in the mid-19th century.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it a well detailed and preserved example of a vernacular sidehall-plan Greek Revival house, and one of few of its type in the city. Its well documented succession of owners illustrates how the north central Main Street area developed in the mid-19th century as a home for workers and small businessmen.
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 89001560, listed September 28, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 26 Liberty St., Waltham |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | September 28, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89001560 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Architect unknown; probably built by Marshall Smith |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Present use is residential; condition is listed as fair-good. A bay window on the north was added at an undated time, and a non-contributing garage stands on the lot. |
| Acreage | 0.2 |
| Coordinates | 42.37783, -71.23319 (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 89001560.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6773773
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.