{"nrhp_refnum":"80002820","name":"Shaw House","other_names":["Cupola House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NC 34 and SR 1203","address_restricted":false,"city":"Shawboro","county":"Currituck County","state":"NC","lat":36.40862268500004,"lon":-76.08993481395456,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-04-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Italianate house with a square third-story tower, known as the Cupola House, on a 60-acre farm at the corner of NC 34 and SR 1203 in Shawboro, Currituck County, North Carolina. It was built in the second half of the 1880s for attorney William B. Shaw.","why_significant":"The house is one of Currituck County's few high-style vernacular houses and its only Italianate Victorian house, standing out in a county of modest, vernacular architecture. It is also associated with the locally prominent Shaw family, descendants of Colonel Henry Marchmore Shaw, for whom Shawboro was named. The nomination also notes the likelihood of archeological remains that could yield information on late nineteenth century farm life.","narrative":"Rising above the flat farmland of Shawboro, this two-story house is known locally as the Cupola House for the square tower on its third level. Built in the second half of the 1880s for attorney William B. Shaw, it combines Italianate details, including bracketed boxed cornices, enriched door and window heads and a sawnwork-trimmed porch, with a basically boxy vernacular form. In a county where most dwellings were simple and functional, its stylish ambitions made it a landmark and the area's only Italianate Victorian house. Shaw was the son of Colonel Henry Marchmore Shaw, a Confederate officer killed in 1864 and honored in the name of the town. The Shaws struggled financially, and ownership changed often until 1936. The house still sits on 60 acres of the original farm, with outbuildings and a barn. Aluminum siding has altered the exterior, though the trim and Italianate character remain, and the interior keeps its walnut staircase.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"William B. Shaw (builder); designer anonymous","architectural_style":"Italianate with Italian Villa type tower","criteria":["B","C","D"],"status_note":"Occupied private residence; renovated, with aluminum siding applied to the exterior to stop rainwater leaks.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:56.891337-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/60/7198/47719860/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/80002820.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80002820/a5f4353147-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80002820/a5f4353147-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shaw_House_at_Shawboro.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shaw_House_at_Shawboro.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719860","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaw_House_(Shawboro,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18217295"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/currituck-county/shaw-house-80002820/"}