Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. 20 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1886.
“The Richard Sparrow House is a historic house at 42 Summer Street in Plymouth, Massachusetts and the oldest surviving house in Plymouth.”
Wikipedia article Richard Sparrow House, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 138 National Register listings published here for Plymouth County · listed in 1974 · category: Building.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
The ground this property stands on, surveyed 108 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 307 fires within 5 miles of Richard Sparrow House between 2006 and 2020, burning about 92 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 4 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 205 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 57 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 28 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 4 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 4 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2015 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | PLYMOUTH |
| 7 September 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | PLYMOUTH |
| 6 September 2015 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | PLYMOUTH |
| 5 September 2017 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 5 September 2016 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | PLYMOUTH |
| 28 September 2020 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 1.2 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | KINGS PLAIN FIRE |
| 27 September 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | KINGSTON |
| 26 September 2020 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 2,442 specimens collected within 10 miles of Richard Sparrow House between 1816 and 1975: 1,782 Animalia, 398 Plantae, 186 Fungi, 59 Chromista, 14 Protozoa, 3 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by -- Russell, A., A. C. Mathieson and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.
| Image | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Taphrina Fr., 1815 | 1900 | Seymour, Arthur Bliss | Plymouth Woods, Mass. [Massachusetts] |
 | Tolyposporium eriocauli G.P.Clinton | 1900 | G.P. Clinton | |
 | Trientalis borealis Raf. | 1900 | not recorded | |
 | Sparganium L. | 1816 | Boott, J.W. | Plymouth, Mass.ts. |
 | Juncus greenei Oakes & Tuck. | 1825 | W. Oakes | Plymouth |
 | Baptisia tinctoria (L.) R.Br. | 1837 | J. Blake | |
 | Myriophyllum humile (Raf.) Morong | 1838 | W Oakes | |
 | Utricularia cornuta Michx. | 1840 | not recorded | Plymouth |
| Carex stellata Mack. | 1842 | Collector unspecified | [Half May Pond], Plymouth. | |
 | Pseudevernia consocians (Vainio) Hale & W.L.Culb. | 1849 | -- Russell | Kingston |
,_quintonil.jpg) | Amaranthus hybridus L. | 1855 | not recorded | |
| Phylloporus rhodoxanthus (Schwein.) Bres. | 1899 | Dr. Hallock |
All 2,442 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Richard Sparrow House: 1 past producer, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada Construction Co | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Plymouth Pit & Plant Wethers Inc | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Plymouth, the town this property stands in, in 43 storm reports between 1997 and 2023: 13 hail, 10 thunderstorm wind, 7 heavy rain, 4 flood. The reports record 1 death. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2010 | Lightning | Plymouth | 1 killed | A 29 year old man was struck by lightning and killed while standing under a tree on Burial Hill in Plymouth. |
| October 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plymouth | $25,000 | Multiple trees were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| August 2003 | Flash Flood | Plymouth | $25,000 | no account filed |
| August 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plymouth | $15,000 | Multiple trees were downed throughout Plymouth. |
| June 2008 | Lightning | Plymouth | $15,000 | Lightning ignited a structure in Camp Squanto, a boy scout camp on the edge of Myles Standish State Forest. |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plymouth | $15,000 | no account filed |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plymouth | $10,000 | Wires on Court Street were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| August 2003 | Flash Flood | Plymouth | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plymouth | $5,000 | A tree on Westerly Road was downed onto wires by thunderstorm winds. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plymouth | $5,000 | A tree was downed onto a house by thunderstorm winds. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plymouth | $5,000 | A tree was downed by thunderstorm winds at the intersection of Derek Drive and Route 3A. |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plymouth | $5,000 | Trees and wires were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| July 2005 | Hail | Plymouth | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Hail | Plymouth | $5,000 | no account filed |
| August 2022 | Flood | Plymouth | $4,000 | Police reported a road flooded, with water half-way up the doors of a car. Street unspecified. Report relayed by amateur radio. The public reported 2.07 of rain with this localized storm. |
| April 2017 | Lightning | Plymouth | $2,000 | At 6:20 PM EST, a house on Christopher Road was struck by lightning. |
| August 2014 | Lightning | Plymouth | $1,000 | Lightning struck a shed on Bettencourt Road, causing a fire. |
| August 2023 | Flood | Plymouth | - | In Plymouth, a car was stuck in street flooding. |
| July 2021 | Hail | Plymouth | - | In Plymouth, dime size hail was reported via a video on social media. |
| July 2021 | Hail | Plymouth | - | In Plymouth, dime size hail was reported. |
| June 2019 | Hail | Plymouth | - | Amateur radio operators reported dime size hail in Plymouth. |
| October 2015 | Flood | Plymouth | - | The Route 3 southbound exit ramp to Long Pond Road was flooded and impassable. |
| August 2014 | Hail | Plymouth | - | Penny to nickel size hail fell for 2-3 minutes. |
| February 2008 | Flood | Plymouth | - | Bourne Road near Route 25 was flooded in Plymouth. In Hingham, the Accord Brook was out of its banks and flooding yards on Prospect Street. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plymouth | - | Amateur radio wind equipment measured a thunderstorm gust of 74 MPH. |
| October 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plymouth | - | A tree downed by thunderstorm winds blocked a road in Plymouth. |
| August 1997 | Funnel Cloud | Plymouth | - | Southeast portions of Town of Plymouth. |
| August 1997 | Waterspout | Plymouth | - | 1 mile east of Gurnet Light |
| July 2012 | Hail | Plymouth | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Plymouth | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Plymouth | - | no account filed |
| August 2008 | Hail | Plymouth | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Plymouth | - | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Hail | Plymouth | - | no account filed |
| March 2001 | Heavy Rain | Plymouth | - | no account filed |
| March 2000 | Heavy Rain | Plymouth | - | no account filed |
| April 2000 | Heavy Rain | Plymouth | - | no account filed |
| February 1999 | Heavy Rain | Plymouth | - | no account filed |
| January 1999 | Heavy Rain | Plymouth | - | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Hail | Plymouth | - | no account filed |
| January 1999 | Heavy Rain | Plymouth | - | no account filed |
| September 1998 | Heavy Rain | Plymouth | - | no account filed |
| August 1997 | Tornado (F0) | Plymouth | - | no account filed |
United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | First Parish Church of Plymouth | under 500 feet | 2014 |
 | Old County Courthouse | under 500 feet | 1972 |
 | Jabez Howland House | 0.1 miles | 1974 |
 | Plymouth Post Office Building | 0.1 miles | 1986 |
 | Old Burial Hill | 0.2 miles | 2013 |
 | Plymouth Village Historic District | 0.2 miles | 1982 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 74002035 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Plymouth County | All 138 listed properties in this county. |
Block
