The General Artemas Ward House is a historic house at 786 Main Street in
Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. Commonly known as the "Artemas Ward House", it was the lifelong home of
Artemas Ward
Artemas Ward (November 26, 1727 – October 28, 1800) was an American major general in the American Revolutionary War and a Congressman from Massachusetts. He was considered an effective political leader, President John Adams describing him as ...
,
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
in the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
and a
Congressman
A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...
from
. The house is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
The house was built by Ward's father, Nahum, in 1727 to house tenants on his farm; Artemas Ward moved into the house in 1763.
Its location is along the original
Boston Post Road
The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into one of the first major highways in the United States.
The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road (now U.S. Ro ...
, and
an original mile marker of that road is still visible across Main Street on the Dean Park side.
The building was enlarged by the General in 1785, raising the roof and nearly doubling its size, to accommodate the family of his son Thomas Walter Ward alongside his own household. It was enlarged again in 1820 by Thomas Walter Ward, adding a two-story ell to the rear. The main structure was occupied by Ward family members until 1909. From 1909 until 1954 descendants of the general lived in a second structure situated behind the colonial home. The property was donated by the family to
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1925.
The home is now operated by Harvard as a museum and is open to the public for limited hours during the summer months. The property also includes a four-story barn. The barn was created by joining two separate barn structures in 1848.
Gallery
File:artemas-ward-house-front.jpg, The front of the Artemas Ward House, June 30, 2007
File:artemas-ward-barn-rear-view.jpg, The back of the barn at the Artemas Ward House, June 30, 2007
File:Artemas_memorial.jpg, The Memorial Stone at Gen. Artemas Ward Homestead, May 15, 2009
See also
*
References
External links
Wardhouse.harvard.edu: Official Artemas Ward Museum website
{{Authority control
Houses in Worcester County, Massachusetts
Historic house museums in Massachusetts
Buildings and structures in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts
Ward
Museums in Worcester County, Massachusetts
Harvard University museums
Houses completed in 1727
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Worcester County, Massachusetts
1727 establishments in Massachusetts