{"nrhp_refnum":"77001166","name":"Thompson Cottage","other_names":["James Marshall Cottage"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SE of Westchester on Thornton Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Westchester","county":"Delaware County","state":"PA","lat":39.893988353000054,"lon":-75.52295750899998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-04-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A stone and log cottage, three bays wide, in Westchester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, believed to date from the 18th century. It was originally built by James Marshall, a man of considerable property in Concord Township.","why_significant":"The nomination describes it as one of very few completely unaltered 18th century log cabins in Southeastern Pennsylvania and an example of a simple tenant farmhouse. It is also associated with Thomas Thompson, a free Black man who bought the property in 1847, and his family, who owned it for a long period, which the nomination calls the only instance of a Black family owning land in the township for so long.","narrative":"Built in the 18th century as a stone and log cottage on a small tract in Concord Township, the house was originally constructed by James Marshall, a landowner of considerable property. Its stone first story, log upper walls, and cantilevered beams that mark a former porch remain largely intact, with few later alterations. The log portion was clapboarded around 1870, and the interior retains beaded vertical board partitions, an original wall cupboard with glass doors, and early hardware on the doors. The nomination regards it as a typical modest farmhouse of tenant farmers rather than a manor house of wealthy landowners. It is significant for its rare survival of an unaltered 18th century log cabin in Southeastern Pennsylvania and for its association with Thomas Thompson, a free Black man who purchased the house and about two acres in 1847, and his descendants, who owned and occupied it for well over a century.","period_of_significance":"1600-1699","architect_builder":"James Marshall","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Unoccupied and in disrepair, though structurally sound; the nomination says it could be accurately restored.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.254933-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/77001166.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001166/3e836847c7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001166/3e836847c7-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"User:Smallbones on English Wikipedia.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ThompsonCottage.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Smallbones on English Wikipedia.</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ThompsonCottage.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998679","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thompson_Cottage","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7795713"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/delaware-county/thompson-cottage-77001166/"}