{"nrhp_refnum":"77001159","name":"Black, William, Homestead","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Drexel Hill Park Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New Cumberland","county":"Cumberland County","state":"PA","lat":40.22236183200005,"lon":-76.88399967699996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-07-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2½-story, three-bay fieldstone house with a one-story kitchen wing on a small hill overlooking a narrow stream valley in New Cumberland, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.","why_significant":"The house is associated with William Black, a Scottish immigrant who acquired the property in 1774, and county records indicate a house there by 1776, making it one of the oldest in the county. The nomination describes it as an excellent example of vernacular architecture with sophisticated exterior detail and interior woodwork unusual for the mid-18th century frontier. It also notes that in 1863 the farm was the northernmost point reached by a major Confederate force during the Civil War.","narrative":"Built of uncoursed fieldstone walls 18 inches thick under slate roofs, the Black House sits on a small hill above a narrow stream valley in New Cumberland, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. William Black, a Scottish immigrant, acquired the tract in 1774, and county records show a house on the property by 1776, which makes it among the oldest in the county. The main section is 36 feet square, with an interior gable chimney, a full-width hall, and 6 over 9 light sash windows, some with red sandstone lintels. The kitchen wing retains a large fireplace, exposed beams, a narrow staircase, and a sleeping loft, and the original hemlock floors survive in the main section. Restored in 1960, the house is valued for its durable vernacular construction and for interior woodwork unusual on the frontier of its time. During the Civil War, Confederate cavalry under Lt. General R.S. Ewell captured a Union courier on the property in 1863 while reconnoitering the defenses of Harrisburg.","period_of_significance":"c. 1776","architect_builder":"William Black","architectural_style":"Vernacular","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Restored in 1960; a large one-story frame wing was added to the west gable wall in 1975.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.263623-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/77001159.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001159/3e85dc7e20-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001159/3e85dc7e20-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Jerrye &amp; Roy Klotz, MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WILLIAM_BLACK_HOMESTEAD,_CUMBERLAND_COUNTY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jerrye &amp;amp; Roy Klotz, MD</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:WILLIAM_BLACK_HOMESTEAD,_CUMBERLAND_COUNTY.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71996705","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Black_Homestead","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8005585"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/cumberland-county/black-william-homestead-77001159/"}