Sweetser, Daniel, House
Why it's listed
Built around 1780 on Lowell Street in Wakefield, this clapboard house is regarded as one of the town's best preserved rural Federal homes. It rises two and a half stories under a low-pitched roof, with five bays and a center entrance. The doorway has fine pilasters with delicate entasis, an entablature with a heavy cornice, and three-quarter-length sidelights. The boxed cornice has no returns, which might suggest early construction, but the two interior chimneys appear only in houses from late in the Federal period locally. Paired windows in the outer bays follow local practice. Daniel Sweetser was living here in 1795, though the house may have been built for him. Its best-known occupant was Col. James Mansfield, the first rural postal carrier in town. The property lay within the Montrose neighborhood, named after the 1850 railroad branch opening. A late-1800s rear ell is the main alteration.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it one of Wakefield's best preserved rural Federal houses, with several local design variations. It was also the home of Col. James Mansfield, the town's first rural postal carrier. It is considered significant at the local level under criteria A and C.
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 89000669, listed July 6, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 458 Lowell St., Wakefield |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | July 6, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89000669 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Present use is residence; condition is excellent externally at the front. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.51691, -71.05846 (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 89000669.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5218873
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.