{"nrhp_refnum":"74001815","name":"Wilmot House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Wayne St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bethany","county":"Wayne County","state":"PA","lat":41.612857406000046,"lon":-75.28382604099994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-02-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The David Wilmot birthplace, a two-and-one-half story farmhouse in Bethany, Wayne County, Pennsylvania, built ca. 1811 in the New England farmhouse tradition, with a later one-and-one-half story saltbox addition on the south gable end.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant as the birthplace and boyhood home of David Wilmot, a little-recognized anti-slavery advocate who served in the House of Representatives from 1845 to 1850 and in the Senate from 1861 to 1863. It cites his authorship of the Wilmot Proviso of 1846, his role in organizing the Republican Party in Pennsylvania and chairing the platform committee at the 1856 convention, and his later service as a judge of the Court of Claims.","narrative":"Built around 1811 in the New England farmhouse tradition, this two-and-one-half story frame house in Bethany, Wayne County, has three bays across and two bays deep, clapboard walls over heavy framing, and a central chimney. A Federal style doorway with a four-light transom marks the facade, and the windows carry louvered shutters. A one-and-one-half story saltbox addition was built later on the south gable end. The house is the birthplace of David Wilmot, born there in 1814, who lived in it until he was eighteen. Wilmot was elected to Congress from the Twelfth District in 1844 and in 1846 introduced the proviso barring slavery from territory acquired from Mexico. The measure passed the House but the appropriations bill failed in the Senate. He helped organize the Pennsylvania Republican Party, chaired the platform committee at the 1856 national convention, and served briefly in the Senate from 1861 to 1863.","period_of_significance":"ca 1811","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"New England farmhouse tradition with Federal style doorway","criteria":[],"status_note":null,"vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.741004-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/74001815.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001815/0a4c309eb6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001815/0a4c309eb6-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Stanley Jones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DWilmot-house.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Stanley Jones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DWilmot-house.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994638","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmot_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8022827"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/wayne-county/wilmot-house-74001815/"}