{"nrhp_refnum":"75000297","name":"Lewis, Deacon Willard, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"33 West St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Walpole","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.14506629500005,"lon":-71.25474943899997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-10-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story clapboard house built about 1826 at 33 West Street, facing the town common in Walpole, Norfolk County, Massachusetts. It has a five-bay ell and a music room added about 1870-80.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of the last remaining buildings tied to Walpole's colonial and federal development, and the oldest house on the common. It is also linked to Deacon Willard Lewis, a prominent nineteenth-century industrialist who made lint bandages and cotton batting. The house stood beside the sixth water-power privilege on the Neponset River, which was important to the town's early growth.","narrative":"Built around 1826 on West Street facing Walpole's town common, this two-story clapboard house is the oldest on the common and the last remnant of the town's early nineteenth-century development around it. The main block is five bays wide and three deep, with a five-bay ell to the west. A music room added about 1870-80 runs across the rear, and bay windows with dentiled cornices flank the central doorway. The house stands beside the sixth water-power privilege on the Neponset River, Walpole's original source of power. Deacon Willard Lewis bought the house and that privilege in 1863. He was born in West Roxbury in 1808, conceived the idea of making lint for bandages by machine, and supplied bandages for the Civil War effort. He later added carpet lining and cotton batting, and by 1875 his mill employed 70 people. He also served as a church deacon and as a state legislator. The town now owns the house, and plans called for restoration and use by the historical society.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival and Victorian elements","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the town and used for offices; restoration was planned, with the house to become headquarters of the historical society afterward.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.414624-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/16/7964/63796416/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/75000297.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000297/7ffd347c63-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000297/7ffd347c63-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WalpoleMA_DeaconWillardLewisHouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WalpoleMA_DeaconWillardLewisHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796416","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deacon_Willard_Lewis_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5245044"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/lewis-deacon-willard-house-75000297/"}