Brookwood Farm
Why it's listed
Brookwood Farm is a working farm in Milton, Massachusetts, reached by a private road off Hillside Avenue in the Blue Hills area. The property includes a Cape Cod style farmhouse built around 1800, with a later ell and two small additions, and a barn built in three sections. Part of the barn has framing that suggests either a late 1600s construction date or the re-use of older material. In the house cellar, old roof timbers with early mortise and tenon joints support the hearths in a large rubble masonry chimney base, hinting that an earlier house once stood here. Much of the early 1800s interior trim survives, including wide plank wainscoting and small fireplaces with simple mantelpieces. Together with the larger and somewhat finer Redman Farm to the south, the farmhouse and barn illustrate the different levels of agrarian life in the Blue Hills area, which is the basis for their listing as part of a larger multiple-resource group.
Significance in brief: The farmhouse and barn, together with the larger Redman Farm to the south, show the levels of agrarian life in the Blue Hills area. Early framing in the barn and re-used timbers in the house cellar suggest that an earlier house or barn may have stood on the site.
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 80000655, listed September 25, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | off Hillside Ave., Milton |
|---|---|
| County | Norfolk County |
| Listed | September 25, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80000655 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Cape Cod |
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Exploration/Settlement |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Present use is as a farm; the house was altered around 1940, and all window sash is replacement material. |
| Acreage | 1.1 |
| Coordinates | 42.20944, -71.11100 (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 80000655.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4975222
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.