Wheeler-Merriam House

Last updated
Wheeler-Merriam House
Wheeler-Merriam House, Concord MA.jpg
USA Massachusetts location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location477 Virginia Road,
Concord, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°28′6″N71°18′28″W / 42.46833°N 71.30778°W / 42.46833; -71.30778 Coordinates: 42°28′6″N71°18′28″W / 42.46833°N 71.30778°W / 42.46833; -71.30778
Area35 acres (14 ha)
Built1692
Architectural styleColonial
NRHP reference No. 82000493 [1]
Added to NRHPNovember 26, 1982

The Wheeler-Merriam House (also known as the Elm Brook Farm) is a historic house located at 477 Virginia Road in Concord, Massachusetts. With a construction history dating to about 1692, it is one of Concord's oldest buildings. It is also notable for having joinery by Abner Wheeler, a prominent local builder of the late 18th century, and for its long association with the locally prominent Wheeler and Merriam families. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 26, 1982. [1]

Contents

Description and history

The Wheeler-Merriam House stands in a rural residential-commercial area of eastern Concord. Property historically associated with the house is located on both sides of Virginia Road, east of its crossing of Elm Brook. The house stands north of the road, on about 18 acres (7.3 ha) of land, while a barn stands on 17 acres (6.9 ha) south of the road. [2] The barn property has since been sold, and now houses the production offices of This Old House .

The house is a wood-frame structure, 2+12 stories in height, with a side gable roof and a central brick chimney. Its rear roof extends to the first floor, giving the house a classic saltbox profile. The front facade is five bays wide, with a slightly asymmetrical organization: the center bay is skewed slightly to the right. The interior is organized in a traditional center-chimney plan, with chambers on either side of the chimney, and a long third chamber behind it. A narrow winding stair rises to the second floor in the entrance vestibule. The building's principal timber framing beams have been enclosed in finished wood.

The property was allocated to Thomas Wheeler in the mid-17th century, and this house was probably built by him in 1692 as a wedding present for his son Timothy. Both Wheelers were prominent in local affairs and were among the town's wealthier residents. Abner Wheeler, the fourth generation of Wheelers on the land, is credited with doing the woodwork finishes in the left parlor and upstairs chamber above. Wheeler was an important local builder, who was one of the leaders of the reconstruction of the town's meetinghouse in 1791. The property remained in agricultural use into the 1980s. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

Wheeler-Minot Farmhouse Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Wheeler-Minot Farmhouse, also known as the Thoreau Farm or the Henry David Thoreau Birthplace, is a historic house at 341 Virginia Road in Concord, Massachusetts, United States. It is significant as the birthplace of writer Henry David Thoreau. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. It currently serves as a museum and is open to the public.

Parkman Tavern Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Parkman Tavern is an historic tavern at 20 Powder Mill Road in Concord, Massachusetts. It is a 2+12-story timber-frame structure, five bays wide, with a side-gable roof, large central chimney, and clapboard siding. It is estimated to have been built in the late 17th or early 18th century, by a member of the locally prominent Wheeler family. In the late 18th century it was purchased by William Parkman, great-uncle to historian Francis Parkman, who operated a tavern on the premises.

Amos Fuller House Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Amos Fuller House is a historic house located at 220 Nehoiden Street in Needham, Massachusetts. Built in 1754, possibly using parts of an older house, it is one of the town's older surviving structures, made further notable by several of its inhabitants. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 31, 1983.

John Boardman House Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The John Boardman House is a historic First Period house in Boxford, Massachusetts. Its oldest portion dates to about 1740, but has stylistically older elements. It was moved to its current location from Saugus in 1956, before which it had undergone restoration. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Henry Fletcher House Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Henry Fletcher House is a historic house at 224 Concord Road in Westford, Massachusetts. Built c. 1810–13, it is a rare example of very late Georgian style timber-frame construction, with a large central chimney characteristic of colonial-era houses. It is styled with a mix of late Georgian and Federal style woodwork. The property's barn was also built by Henry Fletcher using the same construction methods. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

Manning Manse Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Manning Manse is a historic house at 56 Chelmsford Road in North Billerica, Massachusetts. Built about 1696, it is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Billerica. It has further associations with local and nationally prominent members of the Manning family, and is a significant early example of historic preservation in the United States. Since the mid-20th century it has typically housed a restaurant, under lease from a family association. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Hoar Tavern United States historic place

Hoar Tavern, or the Hoar Homestead, is a historic tavern and house northeast of downtown Lincoln on Reiling Pond Road in Lincoln, Massachusetts. With a construction history dating to 1680, it was for nearly two centuries home to the Hoar family, a prominent legal and political family in Massachusetts. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Daniel Morse III House Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Daniel Morse III House is a historic First Period house at 210 Farm Road in Sherborn, Massachusetts. With its oldest portion dating to about 1710, it is one of the town's oldest surviving buildings. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Thomas N. Wheeler Farm United States historic place

The Thomas N. Wheeler Farm is located on Indian Lake Road in the Town of North East, New York, United States, south of the village of Millerton. It is a frame house built at the beginning of the 19th century in the Federal style.

Dakin-Coleman Farm United States historic place

The Dakin-Coleman Farm is located on Coleman Station Road in the Town of North East, New York, United States. Its large wooden farmhouse was built shortly before the Revolution.

Salem Cross Inn United States historic place

The Salem Cross Inn is a restaurant on a working farm at 260 West Main Street in West Brookfield, Massachusetts. It is located in the White Homestead, a c. 1740 Georgian style house built on the site of a c. 1707 house which now stands elsewhere on the property. The property has been listed twice on the National Register of Historic Places, in 1975 and 1978.

Bennett Farm (Henniker, New Hampshire) United States historic place

Bennett Farm is a historic farmstead at 11 Bennett Road in Henniker, New Hampshire. The area has been farmed since the 1730s, when Henniker was laid out, and has been in the Bennett family for over a century. It is the oldest surviving farmstead in the rural community, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

Leavitt Farm United States historic place

Leavitt Farm is a historic farmstead at 103 Old Loudon Road in eastern Concord, New Hampshire. It consists of three 19th century farm buildings, including the c. 1847 Greek Revival farmhouse, a large c. 1888 shop and barn, and a 19th-century privy which has been converted into a well pumphouse. These buildings were built by Jonathan Leavitt, a farmer and blacksmith, and were later owned by his son Almah, a sign painter. In the 1980s the property was used by the Concord Coach Society as a headquarters and museum facility. The shop building in particular is notable for its adaptive reuse, and for its second floor ballroom space, an unusual location for that type of social space. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Appleton Farm Historic house in New Hampshire, United States

Appleton Farm is a historic farmstead at 76 Brush Brook Road in Dublin, New Hampshire. It has housed Del Rossi's Trattoria for many years. It was built in the 1780s by the son of one of Dublin's early settlers, and remained in the family until 1950. The house and adjacent barn were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Kennedy Hill Farm Historic house in New Hampshire, United States

The Kennedy Hill Farm is a historic farmstead on Kennedy Hill Road in Goffstown, New Hampshire. The property exhibits 150 years of agricultural history, with a well-crafted c. 1800 farmhouse built using regionally distinctive joinery skills. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

McClure-Hilton House Historic house in New Hampshire, United States

The McClure-Hilton House is a historic house at 16 Tinker Road in Merrimack, New Hampshire. The oldest portion of this 1+12-story Cape style house was built c. 1741, and is one of the oldest surviving houses in the area. It was owned by the same family for over 200 years, and its interior includes stencilwork that may have been made by Moses Eaton Jr., an itinerant artist of the 19th century. The property also includes a barn, located on the other side of Tinker Road, which is of great antiquity. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

William Peabody House Historic house in New Hampshire, United States

The William Peabody House is a historic house on North River Road in Milford, New Hampshire. This 2+12-story wood-frame house was built c. 1740 by William Peabody, the first English settler of the Milford area, and remains a good example of Georgian residential architecture despite a 1973 fire. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Aaron Jr. and Susan Parker Farm United States historic place

The Aaron Jr. and Susan Parker Farm is a historic farm property at 1715 Brook Road in Cavendish, Vermont. Now just 16 acres (6.5 ha), the property includes a c. 1815 Federal style farmhouse, and a well-preserved early 19th century English barn. The farmstead was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

Gale-Bancroft House Historic house in Vermont, United States

The Gale-Bancroft House is a historic house on Brook Road in Plainfield, Vermont. Built about 1840, it is one of a significant number of period brick houses in the town, unusual given the region's typical dependence on wood products for residential construction. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Salmon Brook Historical Society Historic house in Connecticut, United States

The Salmon Brook Historical Society is the local historical society of Granby, Connecticut. The society's museum property is located and 208 Salmon Brook Street, and includes four historic buildings, which include museum displays of historic items, and a small research library. Two of the buildings, the Rowe and Weed Houses, are listed as a pair on the National Register of Historic Places.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. 1 2 "NRHP nomination for Wheeler-Merriam House". National Archive. Retrieved 2017-09-22.