{"nrhp_refnum":"74001783","name":"Finley, James, House","other_names":["Commanding Officer's Residence"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Building No. 505, Letterkenny Army Depot","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chambersburg","county":"Franklin County","state":"PA","lat":39.99898619600003,"lon":-77.63838659599998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-11-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-one-half story limestone farmhouse with a later two-bay brick addition, located in Letterkenny Township on the grounds of the Letterkenny Army Depot near Chambersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania. It is known as the Commanding Officer's Residence.","why_significant":"The house is described as one of the oldest surviving dwellings in Franklin County and is associated with the Finley family, who were prominent in local affairs. It is considered a representative example of late eighteenth-century rural vernacular architecture in the region. Its builder, James Finley, served in the Revolutionary War militia and was later a Justice of the Peace.","narrative":"Built about 1778 in Letterkenny Township, south central Pennsylvania, this two-and-one-half story limestone farmhouse was raised on a 200-acre tract by James Finley. The original stone section was three bays wide, with a later two-bay brick addition, pegged timbers shaped by an adze visible in the cellar and attic, and arched openings with keystones above the first-floor windows. Finley, a veteran of the Cumberland County militia, was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1783. The house stood beside the Forbes Road, a supply route cut in 1758 during the French and Indian War. Following a succession of owners, the United States government acquired the house in 1942 for the use of the commanding officers of the Letterkenny Army Depot. It is valued for its early construction and its illustration of frontier farm life in the region, though it has been altered from its original appearance over time.","period_of_significance":"18th century","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Rural vernacular architecture (late eighteenth century)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Renovated through the years; described as in excellent condition; used as the residence for the Commanding Officers of Letterkenny Army Depot.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.156269-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/74001783.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001783/65a3c752ed-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001783/65a3c752ed-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Finley_House_FrankCo_1.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Finley_House_FrankCo_1.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994993","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Finley_House_(Chambersburg,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6133895"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/franklin-county/finley-james-house-74001783/"}