The Putnam House was originally built around 1648 on 100 acres of farmland owned by Lt. Thomas Putnam.  around 1648 in what was then Salem Village. Twelve generations of Putnams have lived there since. Today, the standing  two-and-one-half story frame structure with clapboards, a pitched roof over one part of the house and a gambrel roof over the other is more  famously known as the birthplace of Revolutionary War hero General Israel Putnam, who commanded colonial troops at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775.  The house was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and the Putnams donated the home to the Danvers Historical Society in 1991. . Tours and other viewings of the site are by appointment only.