Hopkins House
Why it's listed
Built in the 1830s at 83 Monroe Street on Lockport's north side, this two-and-one-half-story house is made of Medina sandstone. It has a front-gable form, three bays and a side entrance. The street facade is laid in random-course ashlar, while the other walls use squared stone and coursed rubble, with large quoins and red-pigmented mortar. Tool marks from splitting wedges suggest the builders reused stone left over from excavating the Erie Canal locks. John Hopkins, a civil engineer who worked on the canal and later on railroads, bought the property in 1833 and built the house before leaving Lockport in 1837. In 1843 Michael Wheaton, a canal boatman, bought it and ran it as a boarding house for canal workers. Later in the century the roof was raised and broad Italianate eaves were added, about 1865. Although altered, the house represents the modest stone homes of Lockport's working and middle-class families and remains a single-family residence today.
Significance in brief: The house is significant under Criterion C as an intact example of nineteenth-century stone domestic architecture in Lockport. It reflects the modest scale and use of local stone typical of the city's early houses. It also relates to John Hopkins, a canal and railroad engineer, and to the canal-era boarding house trade.
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 03000480, listed May 30, 2003. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 83 Monroe St., Lockport |
|---|---|
| County | Niagara County |
| Listed | May 30, 2003 |
| Reference number | 03000480 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1833-1900 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a single-family residence, with minor twentieth-century alterations. |
| Acreage | 0.1 |
| Coordinates | 43.17763, -78.69381 (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 03000480.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5900671
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.