786 Main Street
Shrewsbury, MA 01545
Phone: 508-842-8900
www.wardhouse.harvard.edu
“. . . universally esteemed, beloved and confided in by his army and his country.”
— JOHN ADAMS, SPEAKING OF ARTEMAS WARD
At Ward Circle in Washington, DC, there is a monument to Artemas Ward. Its inscription succinctly recounts the life of the man. It reads:
Artemas Ward
1727-1800
Son of Massachusetts
Graduate of Harvard College
Judge and Legislator
Delegate 1780-1781 to
The Continental Congress
Soldier of Three Wars
First Commander of the
Patriot Forces
This house was home to Artemas for much of his life. His parents, Nahim (1684–1754) and Martha Ward (1687–1755), came to Shrewsbury in 1717 and built this house in 1727. It came into the hands of the General in 1763. With a growing family, Artemas doubled the size of the house in 1785. In turn, his son Thomas Walter Ward added an ell to the back in 1820. The family continued to live in the house until 1909. This farm was the family homestead for five generations. In 1925 a great-grandson of the general gave it and a $4 million endowment to Harvard University, which maintains the property and museum.