{"nrhp_refnum":"74000394","name":"Cuffe, Paul, Farm","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1504 Drift Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Westport","county":"Bristol County","state":"MA","lat":41.54606436300003,"lon":-71.06473705799993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-05-30","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1974-05-30","areas_of_significance":["Black","Politics/Government","Religion"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Paul Cuffe's Farm is a two-story, wood-shingled frame house with surviving remnants of docks, at 1504 Drift Road in Westport, Massachusetts, on the west bank of the East Branch Westport River. It was the farm of the 18th and early 19th century Black shipowner Paul Cuffe.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the farm is tied to Paul Cuffe (1759-1817), one of the most prominent Black men of his time, who rose from a marginal farm to become a shipowner, sea captain and merchant. He promoted Black settlement in Sierra Leone and petitioned for minority rights in Massachusetts. The significance statement largely describes the nearby Friends Meeting House rather than the house itself.","narrative":"Paul Cuffe's Farm is a large two-story, wood-shingled frame house with a pitched roof on Drift Road in Westport, Massachusetts, set in a clearing at the end of a long, narrow private road. A lawn slopes toward the East Branch Westport River, where weathered remains of the docks Cuffe used to build and launch ships can still be seen. Although the house has been altered, original features survive inside, including mantelless fireplaces, original doors, vertical interior siding and wide-planked floors. The property is recognized for its link to Paul Cuffe (1759-1817), the son of a former slave and an Indian mother, who began on a marginal farm and became a prosperous ship owner, sea captain and merchant. He promoted Black settlement and trade with Sierra Leone, joined the Society of Friends in 1808, helped fund the Westport meeting house, and joined petitions against taxation without the vote. The farm was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as a private residence in a rural residential area, altered somewhat but retaining original interior features; portions of Cuffe's docks remain though weather damaged.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.519289-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/57/7936/63793657/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/74000394_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000394/11ac238d9b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000394/11ac238d9b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cortikal","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paul_Cuffe_Farm,_Westport_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Cortikal</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:Paul_Cuffe_Farm,_Westport_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793657","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Cuffe_Farm","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7150045"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/bristol-county/cuffe-paul-farm-74000394/"}