Adams–Clarke House


The Adams–Clarke House is a historic late First Period house at 93 West Main Street in Georgetown, Massachusetts. Built about 1725, it retains a number of features transitional between the First and Second periods of colonial architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Description and history

The Adams–Clarke House is located northwest of Georgetown center, on the north side of West Main Street between Pentucket and Weston Avenues. It is oriented facing nearly directly south, placing it at an unusual angle to the street, which runs roughly northwest. It is a 2-1/2 story wood frame structure, with a side gable roof, central chimney, and clapboarded exterior. Its main facade is five bays wide, with a Federal-style central entrance flanked by pilasters and topped by a four-light transom and corniced entablature. Windows are 9-over-6 sash, with simple framing. An ell extends to the east side of the building. On the interior, the right side parlor has exposed unchamfered beams, while the left parlor has a Second Period fireplace mantel. The lobby, set between the chimney and the door, includes a winding staircase with feathered sheathing similar to that seen in the right parlor. The addition's interior is Federal in style.
The house was probably built by Isaac Davis sometime after he bought the land in 1716. Its oldest section is the chimney and right side rooms, with the left side rooms added not long afterward. The house exterior was refashioned in Federal style c. 1800, about the time the right-side addition was built. A later 18th-century resident was Benjamin Adams, a militia officer who served in the American Revolutionary War, and represented Rowley in the state legislature.