{"nrhp_refnum":"73000304","name":"Gerry, Elbridge, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"44 Washington St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Marblehead","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.506751449000035,"lon":-71.86424767199998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-07-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story, L-shaped frame house at 44 Washington Street in Marblehead, Essex County, Massachusetts, built about 1730 by Thomas Gerry and raised to its present height about 1820.","why_significant":"The house was the birthplace and home, from 1744 to 1787, of Elbridge Gerry, a Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Governor of Massachusetts and Vice President of the United States. His second term as governor produced the Gerrymander Bill of 1812. The house lies within the Old Town Historic District and was considered for National Historic Landmark designation.","narrative":"Elbridge Gerry's birthplace at 44 Washington Street in Marblehead began as a two-story, L-shaped Georgian frame house built about 1730 by Thomas Gerry. The family kept it until 1820, when a new owner raised the building and inserted a new first story beneath it, creating the three-story form seen today. Clapboard walls, a hip roof, a center hall plan and a porch with two fluted columns characterize the house. The second-floor bedrooms retain their original 18th-century panelling, while the first floor is entirely 19th-century. Elbridge Gerry was born here in 1744 and lived in the house until 1787. He signed the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation, served as Governor of Massachusetts, and became Vice President under James Madison. His second administration is remembered for the 1812 redistricting bill that gave the word gerrymander to the language. The house sits within the Old Town Historic District and remains a well-kept private residence.","period_of_significance":"1744-1787","architect_builder":"Thomas Gerry (built about 1730)","architectural_style":"Georgian frame structure, remodeled about 1820","criteria":[],"status_note":"Private residence in good condition; the house and grounds are well maintained and the structure appears little altered since the 1820 remodeling.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.190471-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/56/7950/63795056/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/73000304.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000304/a14b82d1ba-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000304/a14b82d1ba-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Fletcher6","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elbridge_Gerry_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Fletcher6</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:Elbridge_Gerry_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795056","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbridge_Gerry_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5353816"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/gerry-elbridge-house-73000304/"}