{"nrhp_refnum":"87002587","name":"Centerville Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Barnstable","county":"Barnstable County","state":"MA","lat":41.648701000000074,"lon":-70.3471022646244,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-11-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Maritime History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A village historic district in Centerville, a village of Barnstable, Massachusetts, covering about 30 acres along Main Street toward the harbor. It holds mostly 19th century buildings, including houses, shops, schools, churches, an inn, and two monuments and a cemetery.","why_significant":"The district is presented as a well-preserved center of a prosperous 19th century maritime village, shaped by sea trade and fishing wealth. It has a strong collection of mid and late 19th century architecture, especially Greek Revival and Italianate, and is tied to the village's most prominent citizens.","narrative":"Centerville's historic core is a long, narrow strip of buildings along Main Street leading toward the harbor in the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts. About 30 acres hold roughly 40 contributing buildings, a cemetery and two monuments, mostly from the 19th century. The district grew as sea trade and fishing brought wealth, replacing earlier settlement farther north along Phinney's Lane. The relocation of the Congregational Church to its present site in 1826 marks that shift. Shops, an inn and stagecoach stop, a post office, schools, churches and the homes of ship captains followed. Greek Revival and Italianate styles are especially well represented, from the c1690 Austin Bearse House, believed to be the oldest house in the village, to Queen Anne mansions such as Fernbrook, built in 1881. Clapboard siding and small-scale two-story forms give the street a cohesive, civic character. Later buildings gather around its edges, which helped define the boundaries. The district remains a working civic, commercial and social center.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival and Italianate predominate, with Federal, Georgian, Queen Anne, Stick, and French Second Empire examples","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"General condition is described as good to excellent; uses are residential, commercial and institutional.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:02.032247-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/1/7891/63789101/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/87002587.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87002587/15419ca7f6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87002587/15419ca7f6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:South_Congregational_Church,_Centerville_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</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:South_Congregational_Church,_Centerville_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789101","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centerville_Historic_District_(Barnstable,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5060129"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/barnstable-county/centerville-historic-district-87002587/"}