Located directly across the street from the Lexington Battle Green, the Jonathan Harrington house (c. 1690) is a beautiful nod to earlier times and colonial homes.

But when you read the sign on the house, you get a quick reality check. Jonathan Harrington was a participant in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775, which occurred right across the street at the Battle Green. His wife watched the fracas through her window. At some point, Harrington was mortally injured, but was able to drag himself back to his doorstep, where he died at his wife’s feet.

Shoemaker John Augustus also lived here in the 1820s, taking in troubled boys with prison sentences. He taught them his trade, which served as probation as opposed to them being taken to the clink. The plaque on the house dedicated to Augustus reads, “Friend of the poor victims of the law; pioneer in probation.”

Later owner Leroy Brown, with architect Willard D. Brown, remodeled the house a bit in 1910. Changes included removing a central chimney, altering a staircase and converting some rooms.

According to the Lexington assessor’s database, the 3000+ square foot home and its property are now valued at more than $1.2 million dollars.