Mason, William P., House
Why it's listed
Built around 1860 on Old Providence Road in the Barneyville section of northwestern Swansea, this 1½-story clapboarded house blends Gothic Revival details into the standard local three-quarter cottage form. Features include an off-center cross gable, a bracketed pitched door hood with a decorative truss, overhanging eaves, bracketed pent hoods over first-floor windows, and a rear ell with a turned-post porch. Few intact Gothic Revival buildings survive in a town where Greek Revival and Italianate styles prevailed. The house occupies the site of a stagecoach tavern known as Graham's tavern around 1850. In the early 1870s William P. Mason ran a hotel and store here and became Barneyville's postmaster in 1872; by 1895 the village's branch post office had moved into the building. It likely returned to residential use in the early 20th century as jewelry manufacturing and the street railway declined. It is still a residence today.
Significance in brief: It is an intact vernacular example of the Gothic Revival style, which is rare in a town dominated by Greek Revival and Italianate forms. It also served the village of Barneyville as a hotel, store and post office in the late 19th century.
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 90000121, listed August 8, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 5 Mason St., Swansea |
|---|---|
| County | Bristol County |
| Listed | August 8, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90000121 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c. 1860-c. 1900 |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Transportation, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Present use is residence; condition is described as fair, with no major alterations. A garage and shed (ca. 1930) are noncontributing. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 41.77267, -71.27281 (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 90000121.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q8016485
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.