{"nrhp_refnum":"66000617","name":"McGuffey, William H., Boyhood Home Site","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"McGuffey Rd., near OH 616","address_restricted":false,"city":"Coitsville Township","county":"Mahoning County","state":"OH","lat":41.11586844350006,"lon":-80.55843460944637,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1966-05-23","areas_of_significance":["Literature"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The boyhood home site of educator William Holmes McGuffey, on McGuffey Road near State Highway 616 in Coitsville Township, Mahoning County, Ohio. The family lived on the farm from about 1802, and no structures from their occupancy remain.","why_significant":"McGuffey was a leading advocate of public schooling and the author of the Eclectic Readers, which were used in 37 states for over 70 years and sold some 122 million copies. He spent about 16 formative years on this pioneer homestead, where his education began with his mother's teaching.","narrative":"This farmland in Coitsville Township, Mahoning County, Ohio, is the site where William Holmes McGuffey spent much of his boyhood. The McGuffey family apparently lived on the property by 1802 and bought the tract in 1814. Of the original 165.96 acres, about 73 remain together, and crops such as corn, potatoes and onions are grown there. No buildings from the family's time survive, and the precise spot of their log cabin is disputed, though its general location near a low glacial ridge is agreed. McGuffey, born in 1800, was taught at home by his mother and attended local schools before leaving in 1817 for an academy in Pennsylvania. He later became a college professor and wrote the Eclectic Readers, six texts that taught four generations of Americans to read and sold roughly 122 million copies. The site is recognized for its link to his early education and to his lasting influence on American schooling.","period_of_significance":"1802-1818","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"No structures from the McGuffey period remain; the exact location of the log cabin is disputed. About 73 acres are in single private ownership and used for farming, with a historical society working to acquire the land.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.439293-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/66000617_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000617/8f691a141b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000617/8f691a141b-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fields_and_a_hill_at_the_McGuffey_Boyhood_Homesite.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fields_and_a_hill_at_the_McGuffey_Boyhood_Homesite.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986521","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._McGuffey_Boyhood_Home_Site","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8010506"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/mahoning-county/mcguffey-william-h-boyhood-home-site-66000617/"}