{"nrhp_refnum":"06000147","name":"Harrison, Samuel, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"80 Third St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pittsfield","county":"Berkshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.45165034100006,"lon":-73.24567994699999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2006-03-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Black","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1½-story Greek Revival house at 80 Third Street in Pittsfield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, built in 1858 for Rev. Samuel Harrison. It has a front-gable main block and a one-story porch wing, and is built of vertical planks under clapboards.","why_significant":"The house is tied to Rev. Samuel Harrison, an African American clergyman and author who worked to raise the status of his race and whose autobiography records the experience of Black Americans. Home ownership was beyond the reach of, and often denied to, Black families in this period, so the house was highly symbolic. It is also notable for its vertical plank wall construction, sawn with a circular blade, and for being largely intact to Harrison's lifetime.","narrative":"Built in 1858 on Third Street in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, this modest Greek Revival house was home to Rev. Samuel Harrison, a clergyman, shoe repairer and author who died there in 1900. It stands in a working-class neighborhood of craftsmen and laborers. The 1½-story front-gable block and side porch wing have clapboard siding, a Greek Revival cornice with returns and a Doric pillar. Beneath the siding, the walls are vertical planks about an inch thick, cut with a circular saw and nailed directly to sills and plates without posts. Inside, plaster walls, pine trim and a three-room plan repeated on each level survive beneath later paneling and flooring. Harrison's autobiography recorded the experience of African Americans, and owning a home was a notable achievement for a Black family of his time. The original lot remains intact and may hold archaeological remains of a later house and outbuildings. The property is currently vacant.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Mid 19th Century: Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed current function is vacant, not in use. The house is described as essentially intact to Harrison's lifetime, though interior surfaces have been covered and the windows replaced.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.765235-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/76/7942/63794276/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/06000147.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000147/368837699c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000147/368837699c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Ivan Newton","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rev_Samuel_Harrison_House.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Ivan Newton</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rev_Samuel_Harrison_House.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794276","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Harrison_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7411639"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/berkshire-county/harrison-samuel-house-06000147/"}