Browne House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Abraham Browne House
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The Abraham Browne House, Watertown, Massachusetts
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| Location | 562 Main St. Watertown, Massachusetts |
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| MPS | First Period Buildings of Eastern Massachusetts TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 90000186 |
| Added to NRHP | March 9, 1990 |
The Abraham Browne House is a very old house located in Watertown, Massachusetts. It was built a long time ago, between 1694 and 1701. Today, it is a special museum run by Historic New England. You can visit it to learn about life in the past!
Contents
Discovering the Abraham Browne House
What Makes This House Unique?
This house started as a small home with just two main rooms. It had one room downstairs and one room upstairs. The roof is very steep, and it used to have special windows called casement windows. These windows open outwards, like a door.
During some repair work in 1919, people found clues about how the house looked in the 1600s. The main room on the ground floor was used for everything. Families would live, cook, and even sleep in this one big space.
Saving a Piece of History
By 1919, the Abraham Browne House was almost falling apart. Luckily, a person named William Sumner Appleton bought it. He loved old buildings and wanted to save them. In 1923, he gave the house to Historic New England. This group works to protect historic places.
Over the years, the house grew with more rooms added. But these new parts were built behind the original house. This helped keep the front of the house looking just like it did hundreds of years ago. It's one of only a few houses in New England that still looks this way!
Featured on TV
The Abraham Browne House is so special that it was even shown on the TV show This Old House. This program helps people learn about fixing up old homes.
