{"nrhp_refnum":"77000974","name":"Bowne, John, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"37-01 Bowne St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Queens","state":"NY","lat":40.763010276000045,"lon":-73.82524519699996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-09-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A wood-frame, one-and-a-half-story colonial farmhouse at 37-01 Bowne Street in Flushing, Queens, New York. The original section was built in 1661 by John Bowne, with additions in 1680-1696 and 1830.","why_significant":"It is described as the oldest surviving dwelling in Queens County and retains a high degree of architectural integrity as an example of seventeenth-century construction. It is also tied to the fight for religious freedom, because John Bowne, a Quaker, held meetings there in defiance of New Netherland's ban and successfully argued his case before the Dutch West India Company.","narrative":"Built in 1661 at what is now 37-01 Bowne Street in Flushing, this wood-frame farmhouse is the oldest surviving dwelling in Queens County. John Bowne, an English settler, raised the first section as a small farm dwelling. The main part followed between 1680 and 1696, and the north end of the west wing was extended in 1830, when the roof was raised. Few notable changes came afterward, so the house keeps its clapboard siding, central chimney, boxed beams, wide floorboards and a large kitchen fireplace. The house also marks a turning point in religious freedom. Bowne, a Quaker, opened his home to meetings in 1662 despite New Netherland's ban on unrecognized sects. He was arrested and banished, then pressed his case with the Dutch West India Company in Holland, which changed its policy to allow freedom of belief and practice. His descendants held the house for nine generations until 1946, when it passed to the Bowne House Historical Society, which operates it as a museum.","period_of_significance":"1661-1680, 1830","architect_builder":"John Bowne (built the original section in 1661)","architectural_style":"English Colonial","criteria":[],"status_note":"Maintained as a house museum, furnished with antiques, many original to the house; described as well cared for and never restored.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.908495-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/77000974.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000974/c63c365953-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000974/c63c365953-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Station1","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bowne_House_2018.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Station1</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:Bowne_House_2018.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75321062","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bowne_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12053409"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/queens/bowne-john-house-77000974/"}