{"nrhp_refnum":"07000216","name":"Rhoads-Lorah House and Barn","other_names":["Five Springs Farm"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1832 Old Swede Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Amity Township","county":"Berks County","state":"PA","lat":40.31979080450006,"lon":-75.75344453475974,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-03-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A ca. 1830 two-and-a-half-story limestone Georgian-fronted farmhouse with an attached earlier stone kitchen wing, and a matching limestone Standard Pennsylvania bank barn, with a stone springhouse and other farm buildings, on Old Swede Road (Route 662) near Yellow House in Amity Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house and barn show the spread of Georgian/Federal design in Berks County, adapted at a more modest scale than the high-style examples by master builders Gottlieb Drexel and Conrad Henry. It presents the farmhouse and barn as a middle step in the architectural progression of the county's farm community, and as a fine example of progressive architecture among German farmers.","narrative":"Built around 1830 on Old Swede Road near Yellow House in Amity Township, the Rhoads/Lorah House is a two-and-a-half-story limestone farmhouse with a five-bay Georgian front and a center hall, attached to an earlier stone kitchen wing of undated origin. A matching limestone barn stands nearby, carved with the initials of John Rhoads and the date 1830 on its forebay. The house has nine-foot ceilings, a four-pane transom over the front door, and a stair with a butterfly landing. The property sits on land that was farmed by the Rhoads family from the 1740s and later by the Lorah and Ludwig families. It is significant as an example of Georgian design by regional master builders Gottlieb Drexel and Conrad Henry, scaled to a modest farm budget. Its simpler detailing, compared with the nearby 1801 Fisher House, shows how local farmers adopted the style. The house, barn, springhouse and related outbuildings retain much of their original character.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1830","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"COLONIAL/georgian","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The property is described as being in excellent condition and in use as a farm property.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:10:27.279907-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/07000216.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000216/e1bf56bc47-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000216/e1bf56bc47-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Hshuvaeva","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rhoads-Lorah_House_and_Barn.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Hshuvaeva</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rhoads-Lorah_House_and_Barn.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"83002218","name":"Oley Township Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/oley-township-historic-district-83002218/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994523","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhoads-Lorah_House_and_Barn","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7320818"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/berks-county/rhoads-lorah-house-and-barn-07000216/"}