Peter Tufts House

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Peter Tufts House
(U.S. National Historic Landmark)
Peter Tufts House, Medford, Massachusetts
Peter Tufts House, Medford, Massachusetts
Location: Medford, Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°24′40″N 71°5′39″W / 42.41111, -71.09417Coordinates: 42°24′40″N 71°5′39″W / 42.41111, -71.09417
Built/Founded: 1677
Architect: Tufts,Capt. Peter
Architectural style(s): Georgian
Designated as NHL: November 24, 1968
Added to NRHP: November 24, 1968
NRHP Reference#: 68000044[1]
Governing body: Private

The Peter Tufts House (formerly and incorrectly known as the Cradock House) is a Colonial American house located at 350 Riverside Avenue, Medford, Massachusetts. It is currently thought to have been built circa 1678. Some historians consider it to be the oldest all-brick house in the United States.

The house has been called the "fort" and the "garrison house" because of its thick walls and portholes. For many years it was believed that the house was built by Mathew Cradock, who reputedly owned the first wooden toll bridge in America (1632).

The house was built by early settler Peter Tufts, whose descendant Charles Tufts would later donate land for the campus of Tufts University. In the late 1880s, General Samuel Lawrence saved the "old garrison" from demolition when he purchased it as a wedding gift for his niece. The interior was remodeled at this time. In 1892, when the City of Medford was incorporated, an image of the house was placed within its city seal. The house was subsequently owned by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (now Historic New England), but in 1980 was bought by the Medford Historical Society who now maintain it.


[edit] References

  1. ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).