{"nrhp_refnum":"74001773","name":"Townsend House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SW of Pughtown off PA 100","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pughtown","county":"Chester County","state":"PA","lat":40.164132825000024,"lon":-75.67215855299997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-12-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-a-half-story fieldstone house in Pughtown, Chester County, Pennsylvania, with an early eighteenth-century springhouse to its southeast, built in phases from the late eighteenth century onward.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant for its association with the Townsend family, including Samuel Townsend, a mason and Chester County Justice of the Peace, and his son David, a lawyer, county treasurer and botanist. It also argues the house is a representative example of local architectural tradition, shown by its additive growth over time.","narrative":"Pughtown is the setting for this house of random fieldstone with large corner quoins, two and a half stories high and built in phases. Its original section dates from about 1796 and was constructed by Samuel Townsend, a mason, on land that had belonged to James Pugh, who received the tract in 1713. In the early nineteenth century a two-bay addition was made to the west gable end, and a 1950 addition extended the east end. The house is regarded as a representative example of local architectural tradition, shown by its growth over the centuries to meet the changing needs of its owners. Samuel Townsend served as a Chester County Justice of the Peace from 1801 and was active in the Democratic Party. His son David later became a lawyer, county treasurer and botanist. Beside the house stands an early eighteenth-century springhouse, fed by French Creek, which was built with quoins and later covered in stucco.","period_of_significance":"18th and 19th century","architect_builder":"Samuel Townsend (mason, builder of first phase); James Pugh (springhouse)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Original site; altered","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.830263-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/74001773.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001773/e836ec0e66-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001773/e836ec0e66-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Jack E. Boucher, photographer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:General_view_-_Lundale_Farm,_House,_State_Route_100_(South_Coventry_Township),_Pughtown,_Chester_County,_PA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jack E. Boucher, photographer</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:General_view_-_Lundale_Farm,_House,_State_Route_100_(South_Coventry_Township),_Pughtown,_Chester_County,_PA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997886","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Townsend_House_(Pughtown,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7830185"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/chester-county/townsend-house-74001773/"}