Platts-Bradstreet House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Platts-Bradstreet House
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Platts-Bradstreet House
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | 233 Main St., Rowley, Massachusetts |
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| Area | about 0.5 acres (0.20 ha) |
| Built | c.1677 (MACRIS) |
| NRHP reference No. | 80000645 |
| Added to NRHP | September 27, 1980 |
The Platts-Bradstreet House is a really old house in Rowley, Massachusetts. It's now a historic house museum, which means you can visit it to learn about history! The oldest part of the house was built around 1677. This makes it a great example of very early American building styles, called First Period architecture. Over the years, more parts were added, especially in the 1700s. The Rowley Historical Society has owned this house since the 1920s. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, recognizing its importance.
Exploring the Platts-Bradstreet House
The Platts-Bradstreet House is located on Main Street in the center of Rowley. It's a wooden house with two and a half stories. It has a large chimney in the middle and wooden siding on the outside. The front of the house has five windows and a door in the middle. The door has a simple frame and a small roof over it.
Besides the main house, the property also has other old buildings. There's a barn, a small shoe shop, and another long building with a slanted roof. These buildings help show what life was like long ago.
A Look at the House's History
The oldest part of the house was likely built around 1677. It was probably built by Samuel Platts, who bought the land in 1660. This first part of the house was two stories tall and one room deep.
In the early 1700s, a lean-to section was added to the back. This made the house look like a classic New England saltbox house. A saltbox house has a long, sloping roof on the back, like the lid of an old saltbox.
Later, in the 1760s, Moses Bradstreet changed the lean-to section. He raised it to be a full two stories tall. This gave the house the shape it has today. The inside of the house also got its current look around this time. Because the house has been used for so long, historians believe there might be old artifacts buried on the property. These could tell us more about the people who lived there.
The Rowley Historical Society has taken care of the Platts-Bradstreet House since the 1920s. They help preserve its history for everyone to enjoy.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Essex County, Massachusetts
- List of the oldest buildings in Massachusetts
