title: Townsend House (Needham, Massachusetts)
text: # Townsend House (Needham, Massachusetts)
  
  The Townsend House is a historic late First Period house in Needham, Massachusetts, United States. The 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame house was built in 1720 by Gregory Sugars, a sea captain, for his son-in-law, Rev. Jonathan Townsend. The building has retained little external appearance as an early 18th century house, showing the adaptive reuse and restyling of older houses. It was given a Federal appearance in the 1780s by its second owner, Rev. Samuel West, and was, under his ownership, used as a muster site for the local militia prior to the 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord. The building has been much modified over the years (including the addition of a mansard-like roof), but many of its older interior rooms have retained features from the 18th century.
  
  The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
  
  