National Register of Historic Places

Burnham, James, House

Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts
Listed
March 9, 1990
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
90000236

About this property

The James Burnham House is a historic First Period house in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Burnham, who was apparently a wealthy man, lived in three different houses in the area from the 1670s to 1703. This is house is believed to be one that he purchased from Samuel Poad in 1677, based on what is known of the various properties and related transactions. The main body of the house exhibits no exposed evidence of its 17th century origins, but analysis of its structure reveals a set of features that make it nearly certain that it was built well before 1700. These diagnostic features include unusually large rooms, of a scale comparable to others in Ipswich, a spacing between joists that is distinctive to pre-1683 Ipswich houses, and a relatively steep roof pitch. Most of these features were covered over by alterations made to the interior during the Federal period, and the building's attic space has been finished over. A two-story ell was added onto the back of the house in the 19th century, and a porch was added in the 20th. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Location

37 Heartbreak Rd.
Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts
42.66488, -70.82980

Categories

HISTORIC - NON-ABORIGINALARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Low, Thomas, House
Industrial
0.1 mi
Cable, Benjamin Stickney, Memorial Hospital
Industrial
0.4 mi
Giddings-Burnham House
Industrial
0.6 mi
Rust, Nathaniel, Mansion
Industrial
0.7 mi
Calef, Dr. John, House
Industrial
0.8 mi

Nearby Battles

Raid on Gloucester (Cape Ann)
1775Revolutionary War
9.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Burnham, James, House listed on the National Register?

Burnham, James, House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 9, 1990.

What type of historic resource is Burnham, James, House?

Burnham, James, House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Burnham, James, House?

The period of significance for Burnham, James, House is recorded as the industrial era.

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