Peter Tufts House

The Peter Tufts House is a colonial home in Medford, Massachusetts, notable for its thick brick construction with 18-inch (45 cm) walls built to last centuries. The structure features two large chimneys and openings that reveal how colonists combined living space with defensive considerations during settlement times.

Built between 1677 and 1678, the structure served as a garrison house during colonial settlement in New England. Its defensive features reflect the challenges and concerns colonists faced while establishing their communities in a new land.

The house appears on Medford's city seal since 1892, symbolizing the town's early English settlement and the craft traditions colonists brought from across the Atlantic. It represents the architectural knowledge that shaped how families built homes in the New World.

The landmark sits at the intersection of Riverside Avenue and Rockwell Avenue, making it easy to find and approach for those interested in studying its construction. Visitors can access the building and its surroundings to examine the architectural details up close without difficulty.

The house contains separate chimney flues that merge together in the gables, demonstrating a rare construction technique from the 17th century. This technical feature was uncommon in early American buildings and suggests the builders possessed advanced knowledge of how to manage smoke and heat efficiently.