David Sprague House

The house was originally located at 263 Public Street, which was then a "rural hinterland" with few residences.[1] When the horsecar line was introduced to the South Providence neighborhood in 1865, the house became surrounded by larger Victorian style houses.[1] By the mid-1930s, the neighborhood was "noted for its antiquity and quaint architecture."[1] However, forty years later the neighborhood fell into disrepair, leaving the Sprague House as the neighborhood's most well-preserved landmark.[1] This led the Providence Preservation Society to nominate the building for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[1]

By the 1990s, the Sprague House, now falling into disrepair, was named on the Providence Preservation Society's "Most Endangered List" in 1998, 1999, and 2000.[1]

Around 2000, the decaying building was restored, and moved to a new location at 7 Harvard Avenue, which was deemed "more suitable."[1]

Corner view

• Original NRHP application includes photo of the house in 1977.

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Providence, Rhode Island