{"nrhp_refnum":"09000387","name":"Search, George W., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"56 S. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Shickshinny","county":"Luzerne County","state":"PA","lat":41.150965161000045,"lon":-76.15076819699993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-07-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, gable-front frame house in Shickshinny, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, on a triangular lot bordered by Furnace, South Main and West Butler streets. The house was built circa 1860 by George W. Search and altered by later owner Dr. Miron Briggs.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is a locally significant example of vernacular architecture that uses more sophisticated elements than other buildings in its community, including a wrap-around porch, stained glass windows, a full two-story bay window and faux wood-grained chestnut woodwork. It is presented as a middle ground between the mostly vernacular small communities and the architect-designed buildings of larger nearby towns.","narrative":"Built circa 1860 on a hill in Shickshinny Borough, this two-bay, five-room-deep gable-front frame house was constructed by George W. Search, one of the four founders of the community, who selected the site for a river view above the flood line. Clad in clapboard, it has a wrap-around porch with eight Doric columns on the first story, a second-story porch on the west side, and six stained glass windows. Its entry door has a floral crystal etched design. Interior finishes include diagonal oak tongue and groove flooring and chestnut woodwork with faux graining. Dr. Miron Briggs, a local physician who acquired the house after Search died in 1905, modified it between 1916 and 1928, adding the west extension and changing the south elevation. The house is listed for its architecture, as a vernacular building whose decorative detailing sets it apart from neighboring houses in a small anthracite-region borough.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1860-1928","architect_builder":"George W. Search (builder)","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The document describes the house as retaining its integrity and states the 1995 carriage house was rebuilt after the original collapsed; it does not state the house's current use.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:10:27.011534-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/09000387.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000387/b4f69fa936-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000387/b4f69fa936-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_W_Search_House_Shickshinny_PA_2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_W_Search_House_Shickshinny_PA_2.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998143","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Search_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5545743"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/luzerne-county/search-george-w-house-09000387/"}