{"nrhp_refnum":"72000919","name":"Stevens, John, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"29 W. 4th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Mount Vernon","county":"Westchester County","state":"NY","lat":40.90426882500003,"lon":-73.83509701299994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-04-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A substantial mid-19th-century frame farm dwelling at 29 West Fourth Street in Mount Vernon, Westchester County, New York, built 1849-1851 on land that predates the village's street plan.","why_significant":"It was the home of John Stevens, founder of Mount Vernon, and is one of the earliest dwellings in the area. It served as the political and social center of an early working-class suburban community formed by a New York City mechanics' association. It is one of the few remaining landmarks in the municipality and a good example of a mid-19th-century frame farmhouse.","narrative":"Built around 1849-1851 at 29 West Fourth Street in Mount Vernon, New York, this two-and-a-half-story clapboarded farmhouse sits on a raised basement and is five bays wide on its front. A one-story porch with six fluted Doric columns and a dentiled cornice runs the length of the front, and the gable roof is carried on queen post trusses. Inside, marble and wooden mantels, plank flooring, shouldered door trim and a plaster cornice with a rinceau pattern survive. The house was under construction by farmer Sylvanus Purdy when John Stevens, a merchant tailor, bought it as his home. Stevens organized an association of New York City mechanics seeking suburban homes; in 1851 it bought five farms totaling 369 acres, and members chose building lots by lot in the barn behind the house. Mount Vernon was incorporated as a village in 1853. Stevens held several civic offices there, and his descendants occupied the house after his death.","period_of_significance":"1849-1851","architect_builder":"Sylvanus Purdy (began construction of the dwelling)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in fair condition, unaltered, on its original site, and used as a private residence. The form says it has been continuously occupied by Stevens's descendants since 1882. A cover letter notes a critical threat of demolition by urban renewal.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.560202-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/72000919.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000919/295e41b2db-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000919/295e41b2db-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"ALT55-VictorM","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Stevens_House,_29_W.,_4-th_Street,_Mount_Vernon,_Westchester_County,_New_York.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">ALT55-VictorM</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:John_Stevens_House,_29_W.,_4-th_Street,_Mount_Vernon,_Westchester_County,_New_York.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75323253","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stevens_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6259100"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/westchester-county/stevens-john-house-72000919/"}