{"nrhp_refnum":"72000940","name":"Coor-Gaston House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"421 Craven St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New Bern","county":"Craven County","state":"NC","lat":35.10912268200008,"lon":-77.03809001299999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-02-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-one-half-story frame Georgian house at 421 Craven Street in New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina, begun soon after 1767 by James Coor. It has an L-shaped plan and a two-tier porch with Chinese trellis railings.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is important as the work of James Coor, an early New Bern builder. It is also one of the few relatively untouched pre-Revolutionary structures in North Carolina, with interiors of exceptional style and finish. It is further tied to William Gaston, a notable North Carolinian, and to the origins of the Roman Catholic Church in the area.","narrative":"Begun soon after James Coor bought the land in 1767, this two-and-one-half-story Georgian frame house on Craven Street in New Bern has an L-shaped plan, beaded weatherboards and a two-tier porch with Chinese trellis railings. Inside, the hall and parlors carry modillioned cornices, paneled wainscots, crossetted door frames and a steep open-string stair. Coor, a house carpenter and legislator, is thought to have designed it. William Gaston, lawyer, congressman, state supreme court judge and author of the state song, bought it in 1818. In May 1821 Bishop John England held Mass here, marking the start of the Catholic congregation in New Bern. During the Civil War the house served as part of a military hospital complex. The house is valued as one of the few relatively untouched pre-Revolutionary buildings in the state. It is being restored under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh as a residence and museum.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"James Coor","architectural_style":"Georgian","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition is listed as excellent but altered. The main house is being restored as a combined residence and museum, and a wing has been converted to apartments.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:58.451161-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/62/7197/47719762/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/72000940.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000940/39a4f85ca1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000940/39a4f85ca1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Tradewinds","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coor-Gaston_House.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Tradewinds</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:Coor-Gaston_House.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719762","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coor-Gaston_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18149132"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/craven-county/coor-gaston-house-72000940/"}