Curtis, Noah, House
Why it's listed
Built about 1795 on Penn's Hill in South Quincy, this Federal period Cape at 313 Franklin Street was the home of Noah Curtis, a pioneer in the town's boot and shoe business. Curtis began making shoes at nineteen, manufactured them for sale by 1794, and added boots after 1802. In those early decades shoemaking was done in homes and attached workshops, with work distributed by a central manufacturer. His son Thomas later ran a shoe factory as the industry centralized. The one-and-a-half story, gable-roofed house has clapboard walls, a simple cornice board, an off-center projecting gabled entrance, a hipped-roof bay at the east end and a gabled rear ell. Its roofline suggests it may once have had a single-room plan. It reached its present form by the 1870s, and a granite post and wall along Franklin Street may date from the early nineteenth century. It is regarded as the oldest Federal Cape in Quincy to survive without severe alterations.
Significance in brief: It is among the few well-preserved Federal period houses in Quincy and the oldest Federal Cape in the city to survive without severe alterations. It is also associated with Noah Curtis, a pioneer of Quincy's boot and shoe industry in the early nineteenth century.
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 89001335, listed September 20, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 313 Franklin St., Quincy |
|---|---|
| County | Norfolk County |
| Listed | September 20, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89001335 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Architect unknown; built by Noah Curtis |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Present use is a single family dwelling; condition described as good. |
| Acreage | 0.3 |
| Coordinates | 42.23392, -70.99967 (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 89001335.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14715779
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.