Browne House, c. 1698
562 Main Street
Watertown, Mass.

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Open : June 7 and September 27, 12-4pm.

Admission : Free on June 7, $4 on September 27, Historic New England members free. Tours on the hour.

Private Heritage Tours available with advanced reservations. Please call 617-227-3956, June 1 through October 15.

Constructed between 1694 and 1701 for a farming family, the Abraham Browne House was originally a modest one-over-one dwelling, probably with a minor dependency to one side.

Although the house has evolved through a series of enlargements, they occurred behind the original block, thus preserving the profile of the one-over-one elevation (the only exception to this was a 19th century addition which was removed before 1919). The Browne House is one of fewer than a half dozen houses in New England to retain this profile.

In a near ruinous state when it was acquired by William Sumner Appleton in 1919 (who subsequently donated it to SPNEA, now known as Historic New England, in 1923), the house was painstakingly restored in what is acknowledged to be the first fully documented restoration in America. During the restoration, an impressive amount of 17th century finish detail was uncovered, including a three-light casement window and rare wrought iron hardware.