{"nrhp_refnum":"79002201","name":"Wisner, Jacob, House","other_names":["Rapp House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NW of Malvern on Yellow Springs Rd","address_restricted":false,"city":"Malvern","county":"Chester County","state":"PA","lat":40.073036657000046,"lon":-75.57439915299994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-08-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-a-half story stone farmhouse with a later south addition, located at the head of a valley in Charlestown Township near Malvern, Chester County, Pennsylvania. The original north section is said to have been standing in 1761, and the addition is possibly of the 1840s.","why_significant":"The house is noted for its craftsmanship and detailed construction, which the nomination says surpasses other structures in the locality. It is also tied to Jacob Wisner, a Revolutionary War fifer who survived Valley Forge and escaped the Paoli Massacre, and it served as a farmhouse, harness shop and post office. The house has never been modernized or restored.","narrative":"Built of reddish quartzite laid in random fashion with large quoins, this two-and-a-half story stone farmhouse stands in Charlestown Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Its north section is said to have been standing in 1761, and a later addition to the south was made, possibly in the 1840s. The original part has a massive internal chimney at each end, exposed and carefully beaded joists, and a walk-in fireplace. Jacob Wisner, a cabinet maker and farmer who bought the house in 1834, had enlisted at sixteen as a fifer in the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment, survived Brandywine, Germantown and Valley Forge, and escaped the Paoli Massacre. The addition served as a saddle and harness shop and, from 1897, as the Sidley Post Office. The house is regarded as surpassing other local buildings in craftsmanship. It was owned by the Wisner-Rapp family for 122 years and has never been modernized.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Partly roofless after vandalism and fire; reroofed in 1978 by the Charlestown Historical Society; stood vacant for over 20 years and is undergoing restoration by that society.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.812968-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/79002201.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002201/90de6820d1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002201/90de6820d1-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wisner_Chesco_PA.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wisner_Chesco_PA.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71996361","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Wisner_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6119470"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/chester-county/wisner-jacob-house-79002201/"}