{"nrhp_refnum":"93000298","name":"Thumb, Tom, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"351 Plymouth St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Middleborough","county":"Plymouth County","state":"MA","lat":41.92126489200007,"lon":-70.91823627499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1993-04-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A ca. 1871 Second Empire/Italianate single-family house at 351 Plymouth Street in the Warrentown section of Middleborough, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, built for General Tom Thumb (Charles Sherwood Stratton) and his wife Lavinia Warren Bump.","why_significant":"The house is tied to Charles Sherwood Stratton, the entertainer known as General Tom Thumb of P.T. Barnum's circus, who built it after his marriage to Middleborough native Lavinia Bump. It is also the most noteworthy Middleborough example of Second Empire style with Italianate ornamentation. Its interior features were scaled to the small stature of the original owners.","narrative":"Built around 1871 on Plymouth Street in the Warrentown section of Middleborough, this two-and-a-half-story Second Empire house was home to Charles Sherwood Stratton, the entertainer known as General Tom Thumb of P.T. Barnum's circus, and his wife Lavinia Warren Bump, a Middleborough native. The wood-clapboard dwelling has a slate mansard roof, a raised brick foundation, a wraparound porch, two octagonal bays and bracketed Italianate detailing. Inside, stairs with six-inch risers, windows set 16 inches above the floor, and a low cast iron stove were scaled to the owners' small stature. The property is significant for its link to Stratton and as the town's most noteworthy example of Second Empire style with Italianate ornament. Its period of significance runs from construction until 1910, when Lavinia's widow and her second husband sold it because of financial difficulty. The lot now covers 1.45 acres and retains mature oaks along its semicircular drive.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1871-1910","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Second Empire/Italianate","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Still used as a single dwelling; described as well preserved and retaining integrity, with noncontributing outbuildings and a patio added.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.428286-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/98/7965/63796598/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/93000298.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/93000298/272c599fc4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/93000298/272c599fc4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"ProvRIGuy","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tom_Thumb_House,_Middleborough,_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">ProvRIGuy</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:Tom_Thumb_House,_Middleborough,_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796598","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Thumb_House_(Middleborough,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7817828"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/plymouth-county/thumb-tom-house-93000298/"}