Harlow Old Fort House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Harlow Old Fort House
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Harlow Old Fort House in 2009
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | 119 Sandwich Street, Plymouth, Massachusetts |
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| Built | c. 1700 |
| Architectural style | Gambrel Cape |
| NRHP reference No. | 74001762 |
| Added to NRHP | December 27, 1974 |
The Harlow Old Fort House is a very old and historic house located in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It is known for its unique history and connection to the early settlers of Plymouth. This house is a great example of a "First Period" home, which means it was built during the earliest time of European settlement in New England.
History of the Harlow House
There's a cool story about how the Harlow Old Fort House was built. People say that Sergeant William Harlow built it in 1677. He supposedly used strong wooden timbers from the Pilgrims' first fort. This fort was built way back in 1621–1622 on a place called Burial Hill.
Sergeant Harlow got permission to use these timbers after the fort was taken down. This happened at the end of a big conflict called King Philip's War in 1677. However, in 1996, an expert who studies old buildings looked at the house. They found that it was probably built a bit later, around 1700 or even after that.
The Harlow family owned this house for almost 250 years! That's a really long time. Later, the Plymouth Antiquarian Society bought the house. This society works to preserve old buildings and history. They hired a person named Joseph Everett Chandler to help fix up and restore the house.
In 1921, the Plymouth Antiquarian Society opened the Harlow Old Fort House to the public. This means people could visit and learn about its history. In 1974, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This is a special list of important historical sites in the United States. Today, you can still visit the house. Sometimes, you might even see people dressed up in seventeenth-century clothes, acting out what life was like back then!
Images for kids
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Burial Hill Fort, where some of the home's timbers may have come from
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Fort recreation at Plimoth Plantation
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Harlow House
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A robot for kids
See also
- Plymouth Village Historic District
- Sgt. William Harlow Family Homestead
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Plymouth County, Massachusetts
- List of the oldest buildings in Massachusetts
