A Danvers couple, Nicholas and Jessica Williamson, purchased the 1.5-acre Property on Dec. 22 for $600,000 from 487-489 Locust Street Realty, according to the deed. The homestead sits in the northern part of Town near the Topsfield line.

Danvers attorney Nancy McCann said the Williamsons have two small children, and they bought the homestead with the intention of living there.

"They will certainly enjoy the property," McCann wrote in an email. The family also received approval to add an in-law apartment prior to the sale's closing.

The sale is good news to residents and preservationists who fought to save the home. They even started a Facebook page, "Save the Porter-Bradstreet Homestead," which received 266 "likes."

"I am very pleased to write that the new owners of the Porter-Bradstreet house have sealed the deal and have begun their plans on renovations," says a posting dated Jan. 8. "It has been a long road to keep this historic gem alive here in Danvers. A Big Thank You to the young couple who have taken this project on." The author called it: "A happy ending for preservation."

The sale is significant because the town was so concerned the house might be torn down and the property — with its views of the fields of Connors Farm — redeveloped that Town Meeting last year authorized up to $100,000 to be spent on a preservation restriction that, if accepted by the new owners, would create a 30,000-square-foot preservation envelope around the old home and barn.

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