{"nrhp_refnum":"72000959","name":"Twin Houses","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"On NC 168 at jct. of SR 1203 and 1147","address_restricted":false,"city":"Shawboro","county":"Currituck County","state":"NC","lat":36.40931573800003,"lon":-76.09743366099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-04-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A private residence near Shawboro, Currituck County, North Carolina, made up of two identical two-story frame houses joined by a one-story transverse hall. It was built before 1797 by John Perkins.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is among the oldest houses in Currituck County and a well-preserved Federal structure. Its arrangement of two nearly contemporary, identical houses joined with one directly in front of the other is apparently unique in North Carolina. It is also tied to Col. Henry M. Shaw, a Confederate officer killed in 1864.","narrative":"Two identical two-story frame houses, joined by a one-story transverse hall, make up this unusual dwelling near Shawboro in Currituck County. Each house is five bays wide and two deep, with a brick foundation, brick end chimneys and Federal-style mantels inside. The western house appears to have been built first, with the eastern one added in front of it soon afterward. John Perkins built the property before 1797, and a record from that year describing the division of his estate hints that the twin arrangement may already have existed. In 1858 it was bought by Dr. Henry Muchmore Shaw, who later commanded the 8th North Carolina Regiment and was killed on Roanoke Island in 1864; a Confederate battery was named for him. The house stayed in the Shaw family until 1897. It is considered significant as one of the county's oldest houses and a well-preserved Federal building whose paired layout is apparently unique in North Carolina.","period_of_significance":"18th Century","architect_builder":"John Perkins (builder, before 1797)","architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in excellent condition, altered, on its original site, and occupied as a private residence.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:56.21182-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/58/7198/47719858/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/72000959.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000959/461a0a2d3a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000959/461a0a2d3a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Twin_Houses_at_Shawboro.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Twin_Houses_at_Shawboro.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719858","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Houses","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18217548"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/currituck-county/twin-houses-72000959/"}