Prime House
Why it's listed
Prime House is a two-and-one-half-story, gable-roofed, clapboard dwelling at 35 Prime Avenue in Huntington, built around 1855 by Ezra C. Prime, a local thimble manufacturer. It was designed as workers' housing, with a shared central hallway and a two-story apartment on each side. Its five-bay, center-entrance facade has six-over-six windows, a molded fascia board, a simple molded doorway surround with sidelights, interior end chimneys and a shed-roofed front porch. Original moldings, hardware, first-floor fireplaces, two basement fireplaces and a bake oven survive. The house is notable as a late example of the traditional timber-framed building practices used in Huntington from its 1653 settlement into the mid-nineteenth century, and as the only two-family workers' residence among the town's identified resources. Workers of the Prime Thimble Factory lived here until the factory closed in the 1880s, and Prime family members stayed until the 1920s. Heckscher Park now occupies the factory site, leaving this house and the nearby octagon house as reminders of that industry.
Significance in brief: It is a representative example of late settlement-period architecture in Huntington and the only two-family workers' residence in the multiple resource area. It is also linked to Ezra C. Prime and his thimble factory, and is one of two unaltered structures tied to the town's late nineteenth-century industrial development.
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 85002568, listed September 26, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 35 Prime Ave., Huntington |
|---|---|
| County | Suffolk County |
| Listed | September 26, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85002568 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Architect unknown; builder Ezra C. Prime |
| Architectural style | Late settlement period local building tradition (timber-framed, clapboard, five-bay center-entrance plan) |
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition listed as excellent; used as a private house; no threats known. Cellar fireplaces were reconstructed circa 1951 and the building was converted to a single-family house circa 1920. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.87405, -73.42264 (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 85002568.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7243271
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.