{"nrhp_refnum":"75001659","name":"Perry County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Center Sq.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New Bloomfield","county":"Perry County","state":"PA","lat":40.42007076600004,"lon":-77.18711618999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-02-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick county courthouse in New Bloomfield, the seat of Perry County, Pennsylvania, on Center Square. It was designed by Jacob Bishop and built by John Rice, with a cupola designed by James M. Duncan in 1826.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the courthouse is significant for its Greek Revival architecture, which was heavily reworked in 1868, and for its association with the founding of Perry County and the long dispute over choosing its county seat. The 1892 annex is described as incongruous with the rest of the building, but the main portion is held to retain the significance.","narrative":"Center Square in New Bloomfield holds this two-story white brick courthouse, built in 1826 to a plan by Jacob Bishop and erected by John Rice. The building was completed the following year and was meant to end a long dispute over where the new county seat should be. Settlers north of the Blue Hills had found the trip to Carlisle, then the seat for their area, difficult. A cupola designed by James M. Duncan crowns a low hip roof, and its Corinthian columns, keystones and arched openings give the building its Greek Revival character. In 1868 the front was largely remodeled at a cost of $25,000, adding pilasters and enlarging the interior, and a clock donated by local citizens was installed in the cupola. An annex was added at the rear in 1892. The building is listed for its architecture and its link to the founding of Perry County.","period_of_significance":"1827-1892","architect_builder":"Jacob Bishop (architect); John Rice (builder)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Altered; the front was remodeled in 1868 and an annex was added in 1892. The first-floor window on the right of the front is blocked in.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.87413-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/75001659.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001659/caf424e732-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001659/caf424e732-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Perry_Co_PA_Courthouse.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Perry_Co_PA_Courthouse.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71996692","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_County_Courthouse_(Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7169750"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/perry-county/perry-county-courthouse-75001659/"}