About this home

This gorgeous seven-bedroom Shaker house seeks a buyer in love with New England history and looking for extraordinary space-for living, working, making art, gathering, or pursuing projects. Spacious and bright, the house, built in 1840, is set on a large lot in a quiet neighborhood, with easily accessible hiking trails, in the highly sought-after school district of the Town of Harvard. Public transportation to Cambridge and Boston from nearby Ayer provides an easy commute into town. The building originally served as the "Office" for the communal religious group and was a multi-use building, as office, dormitory, guest quarters and a store where the Shakers sold their goods. The layout of the house still provides this kind of flexibility. There is also a gentle peacefulness to the house, a refuge from the world, a legacy of the Shakers' devout simplicity.The house is large, but it never felt too large to those of us who grew up there, or to our mother, who lived there alone until she was 98. We mostly used the two central floors-the kitchen, living room, and other shared spaces on the first floor, and bedrooms on the second. On the floor above was our father's study, where he worked undisturbed, while our mother had an art studio and ample storage space for her paintings. In our childhood, the basement became a theater and ping-pong room where neighborhood kids gathered. Outside, the house is surrounded by bountiful nature and a beautifully preserved Shaker Village. Do not be intimidated by its size. Focus on the simple beauty of the two central floors, with their impeccably preserved built-ins and pegboards from the height of Shaker design-and on the exciting possibilities of the additional spaces above and below.

Facts and features

Schools

• The Bromfield School

  high · 9-12 · 3.0 mi

  10

• Hildreth Elementary School

  elementary · K-5 · 3.0 mi

  10

• Oxbow Schoolhouse

  elementary · 1-6 · 2.9 mi

• Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School

  middle · 7-12 · 2.9 mi

  7

• The Bromfield Middle School

  middle · 6-8 · 3.0 mi

  8

• Seven Hills Academy

  elementary · 3.6 mi

Price history

• Jun 2, 2026 · Price Changed$1,100,000
• Jan 13, 2026 · Price Changed$1,200,000
• Nov 12, 2025 · Listed$1,300,000

Tax history

• 2026$24,100 tax · $1,518,600 assessed
• 2024$22,216 tax · $1,491,000 assessed
• 2023$21,452 tax · $1,291,500 assessed
• 2022$18,284 tax · $1,020,900 assessed
• 2021$17,152 tax · $913,300 assessed
• 2020$15,829 tax · $857,000 assessed
• 2019$15,047 tax · $863,800 assessed
• 2018$15,480 tax · $902,600 assessed

Home value

$1,100,500

• Cotality$1,100,500
• Quantarium$1,644,851
• Collateral Analytics$1,089,000

Where it is