About Quizzes

Jason Russell House

The Jason Russell House is a four-room, 1740-built farmhouse in Arlington, Massachusetts. It was the site of the bloodiest fighting on April 19, 1775, the first day of the Battle of Lexington, and the Battle of Concord. Today, the house serves as a museum and houses collections of the Arlington Historical Society. The Jason Russell House was constructed first of two rooms, one over the other, with the house front facing southward, with the chimney and stairs on the north side. Later, he added two more rooms to form a typical New England farmhouse. The furniture in the house dates back to the 18th and 19th century. In the 19th century, the house was restructured and a front door and an ell were added and decorative changes were made around the windows. The Russell family descendants occupied the house until 1896. In 1923, the Jason Russell House was purchased by the Arlington Historical Society, a non-profit corporation organized in 1897. In October 1974, this historic house was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The ground floor of the house is barrier free and the second floor can be experienced using the photo-interpretation book. There is an herb garden on the property, as well, featuring colonial-period herbs used for cooking, dyeing, and medicinal purposes. The garden is maintained by a dedicated group of volunteers from the Arlington Garden Club. The central part of the house remains unchanged. Extensions were subsequently added to the left side of the house.