Peak House is a historic house located at 347 Main Street in Medfield, Massachusetts.
The original house was built in 1651 by Benjamin Clark, however, it was burned during the King Philip's War in 1676 and the current house was rebuilt ca. 1677-80 by Seth Clark, who was the owner of the original house and when it was burned. Clark re-produced an exact replica of the original house. The Peak House is the oldest house in Medfield and is one of the earliest surviving examples of Post-medieval English (Elizabethan) architecture in the United States. Some of the original panes of glass in the windows, which were imported from England, can still be seen today.
On October 18, 1924, the Peak House was deeded to The Medfield Historical Society, by its then-owners, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick M. Smith, after which the house received a down-to-the-frame restoration. The house has served both as a dwelling and a historical site, as well as an artist's studio and workshop. The Medfield Historical Society's Annual Peak House Pantry, which occurs during the Saturday before Thanksgiving, showcases the Peak House and raises money for its ongoing maintenance. The event offers visitors the opportunity to see both the lower floor with its impressive fireplace and the separate "borning" room, as well as the upstairs sleeping loft that features the original ceiling beams and gunstock posts. In past years at the event, there has been Medfield Historical Society memorabilia for sale, including cup plates in a variety of colors, embossed with the Peak House, refrigerator magnets, and postcards.
The house is currently open every Sunday from 2pm to 5pm from June to September and by appointment at other times. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and may have the highest pitched roof on record in Massachusetts for a 17th-century house.
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Famous quotes containing the words peak and/or house:
“Sleep shall neither night nor day
Hang upon his penthouse lid;
He shall live a man forbid;
Weary sev’n-nights, nine times nine,
Shall he dwindle, peak and pine;
Though his bark cannot be lost,
Yet it shall be tempest-tossed.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Strictly speaking, one cannot legislate love, but what one can do is legislate fairness and justice. If legislation does not prohibit our living side by side, sooner or later your child will fall on the pavement and I’ll be the one to pick her up. Or one of my children will not be able to get into the house and you’ll have to say, “Stop here until your mom comes here.” Legislation affords us the chance to see if we might love each other.”
—Maya Angelou (b. 1928)