The look on my face says it all: The Asa Parlin House in Acton is in some serious need of TLC. We’re hoping it’s in line for some, based on signs indicating it’s a community preservation project.

Built around 1860, the house is on a side street in the Historic Acton Centre District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Parlin family was one of the founding families of Acton. Jonathan Parlin is the earliest descendant; town records show him present at the first town meeting in 1735, where he was named Highway Surveyor.

His sons, Asa, Nathaniel and Samuel fought in the opening battles of the Revolutionary War on April 19, 1775. Asa joined the Continental Army and in 1788, was Acton’s delegate to to the convention in Boston to ratify the Constitution.

The first Asa Parlin was born in 1754. The first Asaph Parlin was born in 1837. These names continued to be used in the family well into the 20th century.

In the 1870 census, Asa Parlin was listed as the occupant here, and in the 1883 directory, he was listed as a merchant.

In the early 1900s, Asaph Parlin, a caretaker at the Woodlawn Cemetery, lived here.

Located behind town hall and the library, the Parlin house was purchased by the town in 1996. A project application to restore the property and use it for events such as the library book sale or the annual garden club plant sales was submitted in 2010.

The Town of Acton Community Preservation Project signage is outside, so hopefully someone is finally going to help restore this slice of history.