Steele, John, House
Why it's listed
Built about 1880-1885 at 2-4 Montvale Street in Stoneham, this Italianate double house is a large two-story, clapboard-sided building, six bays long and two bays deep, with paired entries at the center of the facade. A pitched roof with paired interior chimneys covers it, windows have simple surrounds with 2/2 sash, and the entries are topped by transoms and a continuous bracketed hood. The site was an orchard in 1874, but by 1889 maps show a row of workers' double houses beside the E.L. Patch Company and several factories. John Steele, who held considerable property around town in the nineteenth century, owned the whole row of identical houses. This one is the best preserved of the row and one of only two well preserved double workers' houses in Stoneham. It has had no major alterations and remains a two-family home. It was listed as a representative example of the town's industrial-era worker housing.
Significance in brief: It is the best preserved example in a unique row of double workers' houses in Stoneham and one of only two well preserved double workers' houses in the town. It represents a housing type from Stoneham's major period of significance and retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship. The form cites Criterion A.
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 84002829, listed April 13, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 2-4 Montvale St., Stoneham |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | April 13, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84002829 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a two-family residence; no major alterations and not moved. |
| Acreage | 0.1 |
| Coordinates | 42.48174, -71.10062 (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 84002829.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6258959
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.