The Thayer House
The Thayer Birthplace was constructed in 1720 by Nathaniel Thayer in Braintree Highlands and was moved to its present location at 786 Washington Street in 1958. Sylvanus Thayer, known as the “Father of West Point,” was born in the house in 1785. He studied at West Point under an appointment by President Thomas Jefferson and was later appointed superintendent of the school, which became the first college of engineering in the country at Dartmouth College. The Birthplace was accepted for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.