{"nrhp_refnum":"77001125","name":"Sotcher Farmhouse","other_names":["Three Arches"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"335 Trenton Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fairless Hills","county":"Bucks County","state":"PA","lat":40.178081183000074,"lon":-74.85713751199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-12-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A stone farmhouse, known as the John Sotcher Homestead or \"Three Arches\", in Fairless Hills, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, built in several stages from about 1712 into the early 19th century.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is a fine example of a rural Bucks County farmhouse showing several stages of 18th-century growth. Its three arches are treated as a distinctive architectural feature, and the house is linked to John Sotcher, chief steward at William Penn's Pennsbury manor.","narrative":"Built of stone in several stages beginning about 1712, this farmhouse near Pennsbury in Bucks County is known locally as \"Three Arches\". The first owner of record was Thomas Atkinson, who received the patent in the early 1680s. In 1712 John Sotcher, chief steward at William Penn's Pennsbury manor from 1687 to 1709, acquired the property. His son Robert added a two-story stone section about 1760 with cut-stone quoins at the corners. Around 1806 John Brown, a later owner, is believed to have built a larger 2½-story addition that enveloped the earlier structure and incorporated three large arches. The house is regarded as a fine example of a rural Bucks County farmhouse, with its successive stages of growth still evident. Its arched section is the most distinctive feature. Sotcher himself later served in the Provincial Assembly from 1712 onward.","period_of_significance":"1600-1699","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Deteriorated but retains most of its original fabric and character, according to the document.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.862365-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/77001125.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001125/f97ffc22e1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001125/f97ffc22e1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FairlessHillsPA_SotcherFarmhouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FairlessHillsPA_SotcherFarmhouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995573","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sotcher_Farmhouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7563958"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/bucks-county/sotcher-farmhouse-77001125/"}