Tay, Jesse, House
Why it's listed
Built around 1810 at 51 Elm Street in Stoneham, Massachusetts, this house is considered one of the town's best preserved Federal period dwellings. It has an asymmetrical four-bay facade with a center entry, rises two stories to a pitched roof, and is one room deep with rear wall chimneys placed asymmetrically. A granite foundation, clapboard siding, narrow cornerboards and flat window trim give it the taut surface typical of the Federal style. A two-story rear ell and a one-story side ell extend from the east end. The windows are nineteenth century 2/2 replacements, and an open pitched-roof portico shelters the entry. Jesse Tay, a shoebench maker and farmer, built the house, and family members who lived there were shoemakers. It appears on maps from 1830 and 1858 and is one of the earliest houses along Elm Street, a route toward Wakefield and the west. One of the ells was probably used as a shoe shop during Stoneham's early industrial period.
Significance in brief: The nomination holds that the house is one of Stoneham's best preserved Federal period houses and has a well preserved vernacular form. It is also tied to the early shoe industry, since Jesse Tay was a shoebench maker and farmer and his family members who lived there were shoemakers. It is cited 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 84002834, listed April 13, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 51 Elm St., Stoneham |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | April 13, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84002834 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Vernacular/Federal |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Present use is residential; the front entrance is the noted major alteration and the house has not been moved. |
| Acreage | 0.1 |
| Coordinates | 42.48714, -71.09618 (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 84002834.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6186903
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.