Historic House Plaque Program Application

The Newburyport Preservation Trust (NPT) is a non-profit membership organization that brings together people from Newburyport and beyond who value the preservation of the city’s period architecture, neighborhood ambiance, heritage landscapes, and authentic historic character.
Getting Started
The NPT Historic House Plaque Program seeks to engage homeowners in displaying accurate, research-basedin formation – authenticated by experienced researchers and historical architects – about the early ownership of their homes. Once your application has been received, the NPT will schedule a meeting at your house. A trained historical architect will examine your house, especially the foundation and attic, to gain valuable insight about construction methods used in building your house. If you have any documentation or research regarding your home that you would like to share with the NPT, we will collect it at that time. Supplementary materials are not essential to the plaque process. When finished, you receive a custom house plaque plus a binder with copies of all the deeds, a chain of title, a narrative history, an architectural description of your house and other related documents. Importantly, copies of all finished research packages are also given to the NBPT Public Library’s Archival Room for future historians.
House Plaque
NPT has contracted with a professional sign vendor to create the official plaques for the NPT, above. The wooden plaques are 16 inches high by 24 inches wide. Holes for mounting are pre-drilled and screws are provided. The installation of the plaque on the exterior of the structure is the responsibility of the homeowner.
Fees
The total cost for the research and an official Newburyport Preservation Trust Plaque is $1,000. This fee may be paid broken into three separate payments: $150 as a deposit collected at the initial meeting, $550 after the research is finished, and $300 when the plaque is delivered. Each plaque participant also receives a one-year free membership to the Newburyport Preservation Trust. The Newburyport Preservation Trust’s Historic House Plaque Program celebrates the preservation of our domestic architecture. The Program reserves the right to reject any application. An application may be rejected in cases where substantial historic material has been removed from the house thereby not meeting the goal of preservation as determined by the Newburyport Preservation Trust.
Historic House Plaque Program Application