National Register of Historic Places

Larch Farm

Wenham, Essex County, Massachusetts
Listed
March 9, 1990
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
90000266

About this property

The Larch Farm, also known as the Goldsmith-Pickering House, is a historic First Period farmhouse in Wenham, Massachusetts. The house is a large colonial 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame house, eight bays wide. The northern half of the house is three bays deep, and the southern half is two deep. Its complicated construction history begins in 1700, when Zaccheus Goldsmith was given permission to take timber for the purpose of building a house 40 feet (12 m) wide and 20 feet (6.1 m) deep. This structure was two stories high, with a leanto section in the rear and a chimney on its right. An addition during the Georgian period removed that chimney and doubled the size of the house, and moved the front door to the north side. A wing was added on the south during the 1780s, and the exterior was remodeled later to give the house a Federal style appearance. The interior of the house includes surviving decorative features from all three periods of construction. The house is also notable for its purchase in 1806 by Timothy Pickering, a former United States Secretary of State. Pickering transformed the Goldsmith property into a rural country estate, planting linden and larch trees on the grounds. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Location

38 Larch Rd.
Wenham, Essex County, Massachusetts
42.60222, -70.87867

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
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

Wenham Historic District
Listed
0.3 mi
Claflin-Richards House
Colonial
0.5 mi
Perkins, John, House
Industrial
0.9 mi
Community House
Industrial
0.9 mi
Friend, James, House
Industrial
1.4 mi

Nearby Battles

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

Questions about this property

When was Larch Farm listed on the National Register?

Larch Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 9, 1990.

What type of historic resource is Larch Farm?

Larch Farm is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Larch Farm?

The period of significance for Larch Farm is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Larch Farm?

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