{"nrhp_refnum":"97000625","name":"Coram Shipyard Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"2120, 2125, and 2130 Water St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dighton","county":"Bristol County","state":"MA","lat":41.81303278300004,"lon":-71.11664822899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-01-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Maritime History","Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A compact 2.1-acre waterfront district on Water Street in Dighton, Massachusetts, containing two early Georgian houses (ca. 1699-1703), a stone wharf dating from ca. 1698 and the site of the former Coram Shipyard on the Taunton River.","why_significant":"The district is nominated for its role in Dighton's maritime history, shipbuilding and commerce from 1698 to 1885. The shipyard, wharf and two houses owned jointly by shipyard operators show early settlement and coastal trade with the West Indies. The houses also illustrate early Georgian design despite later alterations.","narrative":"Along the west bank of the Taunton River in Dighton, this small district preserves the core of a colonial shipbuilding site. It includes the John Hathaway House (ca. 1700) and the Thomas Coram House (ca. 1699), two five-bay Georgian homes built close to Water Street, along with a rectangular stone wharf of about 50 by 75 feet dating from ca. 1698. Across the street, a yacht club clubhouse built around 1950 occupies part of the former shipyard, though the southern portion remains open grass and marsh. The Coram yard built mostly sloops and brigantines for coastal trade with the West Indies, and later yards on the same site were run by Bowen and Hathaway and by Smith and Wardwell. Shipbuilding in Dighton ended in 1874 with the launch of the William Cobb. The Coram House has lost much original fabric, but both homes still convey early settlement and maritime development, and the site may hold buried archeological evidence.","period_of_significance":"1698-1885","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Colonial: Georgian","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The two houses are in fair condition and are still used as dwellings. The shipyard site holds a yacht club clubhouse, and the wharf is used for recreational yachting.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.396588-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/36/7944/63794436/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/97000625.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000625/2c8e01f7e4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000625/2c8e01f7e4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DightonMA_2120WaterStreet.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DightonMA_2120WaterStreet.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794436","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coram_Shipyard_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5169630"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/bristol-county/coram-shipyard-historic-district-97000625/"}