{"nrhp_refnum":"90000078","name":"Norton House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"61 Old Providence Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Swansea","county":"Bristol County","state":"MA","lat":41.772566426000026,"lon":-71.27352332899994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-02-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2½-story, side-gabled Georgian farmhouse at 61 Old Providence Road in Swansea, Bristol County, Massachusetts, built around 1779 by an unknown builder, probably a member of the Barney family.","why_significant":"The house is an intact example of the traditional five-bay, center-entry, central-chimney Georgian form in Swansea and one of the earliest intact houses in the town's northern section. It is also tied to the growth of Barneyville and to Benjamin F. Norton, part-owner of a jewelry-manufacturing company there in the early 20th century.","narrative":"Built around 1779, this farmhouse at 61 Old Providence Road in Swansea is a vernacular Georgian dwelling of two and a half stories with a side-gabled roof, five-bay facade, central entrance, central chimney and double-pile plan. Wood shingles cover the walls, windows hold 12/12 sash, and the doorway has an elliptical fan, transom and sidelights that may be a later Federal-period addition. It was probably built by a member of the Barney family, who settled nearby, and is among the earliest intact houses in northern Swansea. It sits on a colonial road linking Swansea with Providence, Rhode Island. After the Barney shipyard closed in 1861, nearby Barneyville turned to jewelry manufacturing. Benjamin F. Norton, who bought the business in 1911 and renamed it North Swansea Manufacturing Co., lived here. The house declined after the company ended in the early 1920s and was restored in 1966. It was recognized for its architecture and its link to village history.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Georgian","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Described as in good condition with no major alterations; used as a residence and antique shop. It fell into disrepair after the 1920s and was restored in 1966.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.960285-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/99/7896/63789699/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000078.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000078/65f675f7d1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000078/65f675f7d1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Tim Pierce","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Norton_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Tim Pierce</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:Norton_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789699","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norton_House_(Swansea,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7060641"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/bristol-county/norton-house-90000078/"}