Mathias Sharp House

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

From the record

“The Mathias Sharp House is a historic residence in Rockport, Indiana. Built in the third quarter of the nineteenth century, it was the center of a prominent murder trial not long after its construction, and it has been designated a historic site.”
Wikipedia article Mathias Sharp House, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 9 National Register listings published here for Spencer County · listed in 1983 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Listed as. Sharp, Mathias, House - the National Register files a house under its owner's surname.
Address. 319 S. 2nd. St., Rockport
When was it listed? June 1983
Category. building
Township. Ohio township
Architectural style. Renaissance Revival architecture
National Register reference number. 83000148 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

1 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Mathias Sharp House in 2010, burning about 8 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Recreation and ceremony	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
11 March 2010	Recreation and ceremony	8.0 acres	Kentucky Division of Forestry	not named

Every fire recorded in Spencer County

Mines and quarries near this property

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Mathias Sharp House: 5 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
Daviess County Dredge	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Kapco Dredge	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
No. 9 Dredge	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Rockport Plant	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
W. L. Delker Dredge	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer

Every working recorded in Spencer County

Storms near this property

60 of 84 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rockport, the town this property stands in, in 84 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 27 thunderstorm wind, 17 flood, 16 hail, 12 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
January 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	$100,000	Countywide, trees and power lines were down. Minor structural damage occurred, with damage to roofs and outbuildings.
May 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	$50,000	Trees and power lines were blown down in Rockport. Roofs were damaged in Grandview, and fire station doors were damaged.
March 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	$35,000	Trees were blown down in Rockport. Three power poles were down along with trees down on Highway 161 just north of Owensboro.
March 2008	Flood	Rockport	$20,000	Minor flooding of the Ohio River occurred. At the Owensboro, KY gage, the river crested at 43.3 feet on March 23. Flood stage there is 40 feet. Floodwaters entered the basements of houses along the river's edge below the Rockport bluff. Water covered the parking lot and park road in Grandview. Low-lying fields near the river were flooded.
April 1996	Flash Flood	Rockport	$20,000	no account filed
January 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	$15,000	A concrete garage was destroyed.
July 2025	Flash Flood	Rockport	$10,000	Significant flash flooding occurred in Rockport due to hourly rainfall totals reaching radar estimated amounts of 2-2.5 in and around Rockport. The report was relayed on social media.
June 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	$10,000	Trees and power lines were down.
November 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	$10,000	A tractor-trailer rig was blown over on U.S. Highway 231.
April 2014	Flash Flood	Rockport	$10,000	Extensive street flooding occurred. There was significant flooding of Rockport city park. Storm total rainfall was 4.75 inches.
September 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	$6,000	Tree limbs were blown down, some of which were large. A wind gust was clocked at 67 mph.
July 2025	Flood	Rockport	$5,000	Floodwaters were slow to recede in and around Rockport following the torrential rainfall that added up to radar estimated totals of 2.5-4 during the afternoon.
April 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	$5,000	A large section of shingles was blown off a four-year-old home.
November 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	$5,000	A severe thunderstorm moved northeast across Daviess County, KY to Owensboro, then along the Ohio River. Numerous trees were downed from the Owensboro bridge area to Rockport. A couple of trees fell on houses.
June 1998	Flash Flood	Rockport	$5,000	no account filed
August 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	$3,000	Numerous tree limbs and branches were blown down. Many gusts were clocked around 58 mph.
June 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	$3,000	A couple of trees were down.
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	$3,000	Trees and power lines were down at a few locations across the county.
March 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	$2,000	A tree was down on a power line.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	$2,000	Tree limbs were blown down. A trained spotter estimated sustained winds around 40 mph with peak gusts near 60 mph.
August 2021	Flash Flood	Rockport	-	Numerous roads were underwater in the southern part of the county, including State Route 545 near New Boston, County Road 200 West near Rockport, State Route 161 near Richland City, and County Road 200 North near Reo. An observer in Grandview measured 2.54 inches between midnight and sunrise.
January 2020	Flash Flood	Rockport	-	Numerous roads were flooded and impassable.
August 2020	Flood	Rockport	-	Water was over the roads in many locations across the county, however they were all passable.
February 2019	Flood	Rockport	-	Minor flooding occurred along the Ohio River. Low-lying fields and woodlands were underwater.
June 2019	Flood	Rockport	-	Water was over the road near the city limits of Rockport. The highway department put up signs to divert traffic from the flooded area.
May 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	-	A trained spotter measured a wind gust to 59 mph.
July 2017	Flood	Rockport	-	Several streets were flooded in Rockport, including the main street through town.
January 2016	Flood	Rockport	-	Minor flooding of the Ohio River continued into January. Low-lying agricultural land and some county roads in the bottomlands were inundated.
June 2015	Heavy Rain	Rockport	-	A trained spotter measured 1.5 inches of rain in 40 minutes.
October 2015	Heavy Rain	Rockport	-	A trained spotter measured 3.50 inches of rain, mostly during the afternoon and evening. Street flooding was reported. Ditches were at bankfull.
December 2015	Flood	Rockport	-	Minor flooding occurred along the Ohio River. Bottomland fields were inundated. The flooding continued into January.
December 2015	Heavy Rain	Rockport	-	Street flooding was reported in Rockport.
April 2014	Flood	Rockport	-	State Route 62 was closed from Gentryville to Dale due to flooding. Portions of State Routes 62 and 545 were closed near St. Meinrad.
June 2014	Heavy Rain	Rockport	-	A rainfall amount of 1.40 inches was measured in 30 minutes.
November 2013	Flood	Rockport	-	Water was too deep along several primary and secondary roads for vehicles to pass through in numerous locations.
July 2013	Hail	Rockport	-	Pea to nickel-size hail was reported.
December 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	-	A trained spotter measured a wind gust to 63 mph near downtown Rockport.
December 2013	Flash Flood	Rockport	-	Standing water was over numerous roads throughout Rockport. Some roads had water flowing across them. A trained spotter in Rockport measured 5.05 inches since midnight.
October 2013	Heavy Rain	Rockport	-	A trained spotter measured 3.30 inches of rain for the calendar day.
May 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	-	Lots of loose objects were blown around.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	-	Some tree branches were blown down. Wind gusts were measured up to 63 mph. The strong winds occurred outside of the precipitation area of thunderstorms that were located on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River.
July 2012	Heavy Rain	Rockport	-	Several streets were flooded. An observer measured 1.57 inches from the storm.
March 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	-	Trees and power lines were blown down in Rockport.
May 2011	Flood	Rockport	-	Moderate flooding continued on the Ohio River from April. The river slowly fell after cresting in late April. Some agricultural land was flooded, forcing farmers to delay planting.
February 2011	Heavy Rain	Rockport	-	Standing water was over many streets. A spotter reported storm-total rainfall of 3.13 inches.
April 2011	Flood	Rockport	-	Moderate flooding occurred on the Ohio River. Some agricultural land was flooded, forcing farmers to delay planting.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	-	A wind gust to 66 mph was measured by a trained spotter. There were small tree limbs down.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	-	A trained spotter measured a very brief wind gust to 60 mph associated with an outflow boundary. Other sustained gusts were from 40 to 45 mph. No damage was reported.
May 2010	Flash Flood	Rockport	-	Rainfall of 4.4 inches was measured 8 miles west of Rockport. Numerous county roads were closed.
May 2010	Heavy Rain	Rockport	-	A trained spotter measured 2.48 inches over four hours. Minor street flooding occurred.
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	-	A wind gust to 59 mph was measured in an open field. Winds were sustained from 35 to 45 mph.
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Rockport	-	A wind gust was measured to 63 mph.
May 2009	Flash Flood	Rockport	-	Extensive flooding was reported on county roadways. Water depths ranged from six to eighteen inches on some roads.
September 2009	Flash Flood	Rockport	-	Flash flooding of roads occurred. There was a report from the general public of a storm total rainfall of 4.75 inches at Rockport. One lane of U.S. Highway 231 was flooded near Chrisney. State Route 245 near Santa Claus was under water and closed. A CoCoRahs (Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow) Network observer reported 3.56 inches of rain at Chrisney.
May 2008	Heavy Rain	Rockport	-	Some street flooding occurred in Rockport and Hatfield.
April 2008	Flash Flood	Rockport	-	Highway 70 between Newtonville and State Route 66 was closed. State Route 545 was closed north of Troy. Many secondary county roads were closed due to high water.
April 2006	Hail	Rockport	-	Dime to quarter size hail occurred.
July 2006	Heavy Rain	Rockport	-	Slow-moving thunderstorms with very heavy rain caused street flooding.
June 2006	Flash Flood	Rockport	-	A co-operative observer reported over an inch of rain in two hours. The highway department placed signs where water was over roads, including State Road 66 between Rockport and Reo, County Road 200W south of State Road 66, and U.S. 231.
June 2006	Heavy Rain	Rockport	-	Water was over portions of State Route 66 due to thunderstorms with heavy rainfall. A trained spotter at Rockport reported 3.2 inches of rain within an hour. Small creeks and ditches overflowed.

Every storm recorded in Spencer County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

4 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Hardy-Baumgaertner House	0.2 miles	2019
Spencer County Courthouse	0.2 miles	1999
Rockport Historic District	0.4 miles	2019
Lincoln Pioneer Village	0.7 miles	1998

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 83000148 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Spencer County	All 9 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.