Boardman House

Built in 1692 for the family of William Boardman, a joiner, Boardman House survives remarkably intact from its original construction. With the exception of minor structural stabilization and repairs, the house remains unaltered since the early eighteenth century, providing an exceptional opportunity to view seventeenth- and eighteenth-century construction techniques and finishes. Boardman House is a National Historic Landmark.

Historic New England founder William Sumner Appleton purchased Boardman House in 1914 because he recognized its remarkable state of preservation and the extraordinary amount of surviving seventeenth-century building fabric: original oak clapboards, roof boards and skirt boards, massive timber framing with decorative chamfers, shadow-molded sheathing, and wooden ceilings. By 1696 a rear lean-to had been added, allowing for the separation of work spaces and social spaces, an important cultural shift in domestic architecture.

Boardman House is located at 17 Howard Street, Saugus, Massachusetts.