Lincoln, Ambrose, Jr., House
Why it's listed
This house at 1916 Bay Street in North Taunton was built around 1775 by Ambrose Lincoln, Jr., a farmer, shortly after his marriage. It is a Federal I-house, two stories tall with a hipped roof and a five-bay facade. The central door, partially altered, is topped by a louvered fanlight set in a keystoned, molded surround. Windows are six-over-six sash with plain wood trim, and chimneys rise at the interior ends. The clapboard house sits on a lot of about one third of an acre, part of a small residential cluster organized around the North Taunton Baptist Church in an otherwise rural area. It remained in the Lincoln family until 1919, when it was sold to William Austin. The house was listed for its architectural value, as a locally important and well-preserved example of a rural New England house type that reflects the late 18th-century settlement of outlying North Taunton. It retains integrity of design, location, setting, materials, workmanship and association.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is a well-preserved, locally important example of a Federal-period house type common to rural New England in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It reflects late 18th-century settlement of the outlying North Taunton area and is tied to the prominent Lincoln family. It meets criterion C.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 84002157, listed July 5, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1916 Bay St., Taunton |
|---|---|
| County | Bristol County |
| Listed | July 5, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84002157 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Architect unknown; built by Ambrose Lincoln, Jr. |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Present use is residence; the form says it has not been altered or moved. |
| Acreage | 0.3 |
| Coordinates | 41.91402, -71.09322 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 84002157.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4741817
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.