{"nrhp_refnum":"90000254","name":"Old Garrison House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"188 Granite St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Rockport","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.68089716000003,"lon":-70.62766421399994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1991-03-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A residence at 188 Granite Street in Rockport, Massachusetts, built around 1700 as a squared-log house and later extended with an ell and wings. It sits on a rural lot above Pigeon Cove Harbor, with a barn, two sheds and garden remains.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as the principal remaining example of squared log construction in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, meeting criterion C. It also shows how a First Period house was enlarged in the late 18th century into a through-hall plan, and it represents early 20th century private restoration.","narrative":"Built around 1700 on Granite Street in Rockport, this house is an unusual survivor of squared log construction in colonial Massachusetts. Tamarack logs, hewn square and joined with dovetailed corners, form the walls of the original two-room core, and the south facade has a framed overhang. Beams carry delicate cyma moldings. Documents place Joshua Norwood and his wife in residence by 1702, on land deeded to his father in 1688. Local legend links the house to a 1675 garrison and to Elizabeth Procter, though the form treats these as tradition. Between 1778 and 1824, under Moses Wheeler, a stairhall and rooms were added to the north and the main facade turned to face east. A kitchen wing followed about 1850. In 1925 Oliver E. Williams bought the property, and his son Thomas, an architect, directed a careful restoration that removed later finishes and brought in period material from other houses. A barn, two sheds and terraced garden remains survive on the grounds.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect unknown; restored in the late 1920s under Thomas Williams, an architect, for his father Oliver E. Williams","architectural_style":"First Period, with Second and Third Period alterations and additions","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Listed as a residence in good condition; not moved.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.424896-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/72/7900/63790072/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000254.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000254/017455cdc5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000254/017455cdc5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RockportMA_OldGarrisonHouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Magicpiano</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:RockportMA_OldGarrisonHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790072","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Garrison_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7084078"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/old-garrison-house-90000254/"}