{"nrhp_refnum":"75001261","name":"Kearney, Shemuel, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1 mi. S of Franklinton on U.S. 1","address_restricted":false,"city":"Franklinton","county":"Franklin County","state":"NC","lat":36.07684545800004,"lon":-78.48112626399995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-06-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-and-one-half-story frame house with a gambrel roof and a later one-story rear ell, on a hill beside U.S. 1 about one mile south of Franklinton, Franklin County, North Carolina. It is believed to have been built for planter Shemuel Kearney before the Revolution.","why_significant":"The house is believed to be among the earliest of the few eighteenth-century houses in Franklin County. Its simple, robust Georgian finish and gambrel roof form, which is unusual in the county, support this view. It was called \"the old House\" in a 1808 will, and it is tied to the Kearney family, whose later namesake is described as the \"father\" of Franklinton.","narrative":"Standing on a hill above U.S. 1 about a mile south of Franklinton, this frame house has a gambrel roof, a form unusual in Franklin County. The main block rises one and one-half stories and has three bays, with shed dormers across the front and a single brick chimney at the east gable. A one-story rear ell was added later. Inside, two rooms sit across the front and two across the rear, divided by a small central hall. Corner fireplaces, raised-panel doors, paneled wainscot, exposed beaded beams and simple Georgian mantels survive. The house is believed to have been built before the Revolution for planter Shemuel Kearney, who bought the land in 1758. His 1808 will refers to it as \"the old House.\" Its plain Georgian finish and roof form suggest it is among the earliest eighteenth-century houses in the county. His grandson and namesake is remembered as the founder of nearby Franklinton.","period_of_significance":"1700-1799","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Georgian","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition and occupied as a private residence at the time of nomination; wooden shingles were added to the exterior in recent years.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:56.882314-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/20/7203/47720320/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/75001261.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001261/13d5aa6780-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001261/13d5aa6780-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Mld74","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ShemuelKearney.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Mld74</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:ShemuelKearney.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47720320","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shemuel_Kearney_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18711594"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/franklin-county/kearney-shemuel-house-75001261/"}