{"nrhp_refnum":"66000605","name":"McGuffey, William H., House","other_names":["William Holmes McGuffey House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"401 E. Spring St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Oxford","county":"Butler County","state":"OH","lat":39.50705708700008,"lon":-84.73597347799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1965-12-21","areas_of_significance":["Education"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick house at 401 East Spring Street in Oxford, Butler County, Ohio, designed and built by William Holmes McGuffey in 1832-33. It is owned by Miami University and operated as a museum.","why_significant":"McGuffey lived here from 1833 to 1836 and compiled the First, Second, Third and Fourth Readers in the house. These and later McGuffey texts sold an estimated 122,000,000 copies and were a major cultural and educational influence on 19th-century America.","narrative":"This two-story brick house on East Spring Street in Oxford, Ohio, was designed and built by educator William Holmes McGuffey in 1832-33. He and his family lived there for only about three years, until he left Miami University in 1836. During that time he compiled the first four of his famous children's Readers in the house. The series, together with later McGuffey texts, is estimated to have sold more than 122,000,000 copies and shaped the thinking of generations of Americans. The house has changed since then: the main entrance moved to the north side, a second-floor porch was enclosed, and a two-story wing was added in 1855. Inside, a stairway was added, though a restored stenciled dining room wall covering and an original mantel remain. Miami University restored the house and now operates it as a museum honoring McGuffey, displaying editions of the Readers and the octagonal table where he worked.","period_of_significance":"1833-1836","architect_builder":"William Holmes McGuffey (designed and built the house)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Restored by Miami University and used as a museum honoring McGuffey; open on set days throughout the year except August.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.816499-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/66000605_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000605/7bbb2ea44c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000605/7bbb2ea44c-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_McGuffey_House,_front_and_western_side.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_McGuffey_House,_front_and_western_side.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986451","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._McGuffey_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8010507"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/butler-county/mcguffey-william-h-house-66000605/"}