{"nrhp_refnum":"90000055","name":"South Swansea Union Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Gardner's Neck Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Swansea","county":"Bristol County","state":"MA","lat":41.72417466200005,"lon":-71.20100570399995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-02-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-and-one-half-story Shingle Style church on Gardner's Neck Road in South Swansea, Massachusetts, built in 1916 with a later parish house (ca. 1960s) on the lot.","why_significant":"The church is argued to be significant locally under Criterion A as a product of the rapid suburban growth of Gardner's Neck in the early 20th century. Under Criterion C it is the best example of a Shingle Style church in Swansea, and it is well preserved. It also meets Criteria Consideration A for religious properties, on the basis of its architectural significance.","narrative":"South Swansea Union Church is a wood-shingled, gabled church on Gardner's Neck Road, completed in 1916 on a raised rubblestone foundation. Its offset entrance sits beneath a square tower topped by a belvedere with a tent roof. Four lancet windows and a wheel window mark the cross-gable facade, and similar window groupings appear on the end gables. Overhanging eaves, exposed rafters and drip moulds over openings add to its Shingle Style character, and the form calls it the best example of that style among Swansea's churches. The congregation grew from the South Swansea Sunday School, organized around 1910 as the formerly rural neck filled with suburban housing. Membership rose from 16 to 96 children in a year, and classes met in homes and a tent before the school incorporated in 1914. Land was bought from Edwin Gardner in 1915, the cornerstone was laid on May 6, 1916, and the building was dedicated that September. A parish house from about the 1960s stands nearby.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Shingle Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Condition is described as good, with no major alterations and no move; it is still used as a church.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.673793-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/61/7896/63789661/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000055.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000055/89ad138b7c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000055/89ad138b7c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:South_Swansea_Baptist_Church,_South_Swansea_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_Swansea_Baptist_Church,_South_Swansea_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789661","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Swansea_Baptist_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7568599"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/bristol-county/south-swansea-union-church-90000055/"}