{"nrhp_refnum":"72000945","name":"Jerkins, Thomas, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"305 Johnson St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New Bern","county":"Craven County","state":"NC","lat":35.11055351300007,"lon":-77.03878392799999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-10-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story frame Italianate house at 305 Johnson Street in New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina, built about 1849 for ship master Thomas Jerkins, with a surviving separate kitchen building.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as an excellent example of a restrained, New Bern adaptation of the Italianate style using the traditional side-hall plan. It shows both the builder's awareness of current architectural fashion and local craftsmen's skill in adapting it. The house also served Union forces quartered in New Bern from 1862 to 1865.","narrative":"Built about 1849 for Captain Thomas Jerkins, a New Bern ship master who prospered through trade and business connections, this two-story frame house at 305 Johnson Street is a restrained local version of the Italianate style. It follows the side-hall plan traditional in New Bern and has bracketed eaves, Tuscan-style corner pilasters, a stuccoed brick basement and a separate kitchen building that still matches an 1849 insurance policy description. Inside, the principal rooms retain plaster ceiling medallions, marble mantels, sliding paneled doors and gas-era chandeliers. The house may stand on the foundations of an earlier Jerkins dwelling. During the Civil War it was heavily used by Union troops from Massachusetts, New Jersey and Vermont between 1862 and 1865. After the war it passed to Jerkins relatives and later owners. It was listed as an excellent example of a shipmaster's awareness of prevailing styles and of local craftsmen's adaptation of them.","period_of_significance":"19th Century","architect_builder":"Thomas Jerkins (builder/owner); local craftsmen","architectural_style":"Italianate (New Bern adaptation, side-hall plan)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition marked excellent; altered; original site; occupied private residence. The front porch floor was recently removed, leaving a landing and stair.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:58.39921-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/10/7197/47719710/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/72000945.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000945/abc9391a88-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000945/abc9391a88-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Tradewinds","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Jerkins_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:Thomas_Jerkins_House.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719710","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jerkins_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18152669"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/craven-county/jerkins-thomas-house-72000945/"}