Worthen, Daniel, House
Why it's listed
Daniel Worthen's house at 8 Mt. Pleasant Street in East Somerville is a modest 1 1/2-story, three-bay residence built around 1850-1860. Its sidehall plan includes an entrance with glazed sidelights and a transom. What sets it apart is its Gothic Revival detailing: an intact foliated vergeboard and turned drop porch trim give the small house a picturesque quality that is unique in the Mt. Pleasant and Perkins area. The clapboard exterior may have replaced earlier stucco. Mt. Pleasant Street was platted in 1840 as part of a subdivision of the large Stearnes estate. East Somerville, near the narrow peninsula linking Somerville with Charlestown, soon filled with industry, rail lines and housing for Boston businessmen and local laborers. The first owner, Daniel Worthen, was a distiller. The house was listed for its architectural character and for representing working and middle-class housing in this area, and it retains its location, design, setting, materials and workmanship.
Significance in brief: The house has unusually well-detailed Gothic trim on an otherwise modest sidehall-plan dwelling, and it is unique in its neighborhood. Its construction represents housing for working and middle-class residents in the increasingly subdivided East Somerville area. The form finds it meets Criteria A and C at the local level, with good integrity.
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 89001272, listed September 18, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 8 Mt. Pleasant St., Somerville |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | September 18, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89001272 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition is described as good; the house is in present use as a residence. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.38526, -71.07808 (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 89001272.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5219127
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.