{"nrhp_refnum":"90000066","name":"Cole, Benjamin, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"412 Old Warren Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Swansea","county":"Bristol County","state":"MA","lat":41.74203860700004,"lon":-71.23203983699995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-02-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Agriculture","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2½-story clapboarded farmhouse at 412 Old Warren Road in Swansea, Bristol County, Massachusetts, built in 1701 by Benjamin Cole, with a rear ell added around 1850 and a barn from about 1890.","why_significant":"The form describes it as the oldest documented house in Swansea and an intact farmstead reflecting early agricultural settlement of Old Swansea (Criterion A). It is also a well-preserved Georgian/Federal vernacular farmhouse with a massive brick center chimney (Criterion C). Significance is local.","narrative":"Built in 1701 by Benjamin Cole (1678-1748), this farmhouse at 412 Old Warren Road is recorded as the oldest documented house in Swansea. It is a 2½-story, gabled, clapboarded building with a symmetrical five-bay facade, a center entry under a hipped enclosure with wide corner pilasters, a double-pile plan, and a massive brick center chimney. A 1½-story rear ell was added around 1850. Evidence of later 18th-century remodeling includes the treatment of the main doorway and the double range of rooms under a wide gable roof. The farm was owned first by the Coles and later by the Wilbur family, who ran it from the early 19th century into the 20th. Dairy farming was its focus, supplemented by market gardening around the turn of the 20th century. Sited on a knoll facing a colonial road through Old Swansea, it represents the dispersed, self-sufficient farmsteads typical of local settlement. A barn from about 1890 also contributes to the property.","period_of_significance":"Through about 1900 (reviewer comment: period extends to 1900 to include the c.1890 barn and the farmstead's 18th-19th century evolution)","architect_builder":"Benjamin Cole (builder, per historical narrative); architect unknown","architectural_style":"Georgian/Federal","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Present use is residence; condition listed as excellent.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.882258-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/73/7896/63789673/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000066.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000066/042cc32299-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000066/042cc32299-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benjamin_Cole_House,_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:Benjamin_Cole_House,_Swansea_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789673","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Cole_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4888417"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/bristol-county/cole-benjamin-house-90000066/"}