{"nrhp_refnum":"07000481","name":"Bacon-Merchant-Moss House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"32 Cottage St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lockport","county":"Niagara County","state":"NY","lat":43.168090918000075,"lon":-78.69429418099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-05-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":[],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-one-half-story Federal-style Medina sandstone house with later stone wings and a 1951 modernist addition, at 32 Cottage Street in Lockport, Niagara County, New York. The original house was built circa 1832 for Gillett Bacon.","why_significant":"It is significant under Criterion C as an intact example of early nineteenth-century stone architecture in Lockport, built during the Erie Canal era. Its refined masonry on three elevations, Federal detailing and interior trim show a higher level of workmanship than typical local stone houses. It is also tied to prominent local figures and, by local tradition only, to the Underground Railroad.","narrative":"Built around 1832 for Gillett Bacon, this Lockport house at the corner of Cottage and Walnut streets is faced in Medina sandstone with limestone lintels, sills and water table. Its Federal details include a three-bay front, semi-elliptical gable windows, gable returns and classically inspired interior woodwork. Later stone wings were added in the nineteenth century, and a modernist gymnasium and office wing followed in 1951. Dr. George Merchant, maker of Merchant's Gargling Oil, owned the house from 1842, and banker Abijah Moss bought it in 1861; his family stayed for decades. Local tradition holds that the Moss family hid escaping slaves in a narrow attic crawlspace, though no documents confirm this. The house later served as Red Cross headquarters during World War I and was bought by the YWCA in 1927, which still uses it. It is valued as an intact example of Lockport's early stone architecture.","period_of_significance":"1832-1951","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still in use by the YWCA of Niagara for recreational and educational programs, services and activities; interior altered for office use but retaining early features.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.029124-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/07000481.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000481/6368040a60-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000481/6368040a60-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bacon-Merchant-Moss_House_Jun_09.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog (talk)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bacon-Merchant-Moss_House_Jun_09.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75313941","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacon-Merchant-Moss_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4839917"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/niagara-county/bacon-merchant-moss-house-07000481/"}