{"nrhp_refnum":"73001620","name":"Harris, John, Mansion","other_names":["Simon Cameron House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"219 S. Front St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Harrisburg","county":"Dauphin County","state":"PA","lat":40.256682894500045,"lon":-76.87857214146521,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-09-20","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1975-05-15","areas_of_significance":["Military","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2½-story Georgian-style mansion on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, facing south at Front Street in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, built in 1764-66 by John Harris, founder of Harrisburg. The house replaced an earlier log structure of the early 18th century.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the mansion is significant for its association with John Harris, who founded the city and traded with local Native Americans, and with later occupant Simon Cameron, whose political career coincided with its remodeling and enlargement. It also notes the house's use as the first site of the Harrisburg Academy and as a women's college, and its Georgian architecture.","narrative":"Built in 1764-66 for John Harris, founder of Harrisburg, this 2½-story Georgian mansion stands on the east bank of the Susquehanna River and faces south toward Front Street. It has four bays across, a central hall, and a stone section that survives from the original house, with later additions in the rear and on the sides. Harris laid out the early town, donated land for a courthouse and prison, and set aside four acres for the state capitol. In 1784 the house served as a school that became the Harrisburg Academy. Between 1854 and 1863 it housed the Pennsylvania Female College. Simon Cameron, a state senator, Secretary of War under Lincoln, and Ambassador to Russia, lived there, and his years of prominence coincided with a mid-1860s remodeling that enlarged the house and added gas, water and hot air heating. The mansion is now operated as a historic house and museum.","period_of_significance":"1764","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Georgian","criteria":[],"status_note":"Currently the residence of the Dauphin County Historical Society, run as a historic house and museum headquarters; condition marked fair and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.037026-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/73001620.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001620/8a8956b6ca-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001620/8a8956b6ca-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Harris-Simon_Cameron_House_Nov_10.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog (talk)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Harris-Simon_Cameron_House_Nov_10.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"76001632","name":"Harrisburg Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/harrisburg-historic-district-76001632/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995807","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Cameron_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7518404"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/dauphin-county/harris-john-mansion-73001620/"}