{"nrhp_refnum":"79002287","name":"Erpff, Philip, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"S. Market St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Schaefferstown","county":"Lebanon County","state":"PA","lat":40.29660222500007,"lon":-76.29331553499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-11-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2½-story limestone house with a gable roof, located in Schaefferstown, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, with associated limestone washhouse, spring house, and underground cold storage building called the \"arch\".","why_significant":"The nomination describes the house as typical of the building styles, techniques and materials of the rural Germanic tradition of Lebanon County. It ties the house to early settlers Philip Erpff and his wife, who arrived as redemptioners and became prominent in the community and the Lutheran Church. It also links the property to Abraham Rex and the Schaeffer family, founders of the town's leading families.","narrative":"Built of native limestone in Schaefferstown, the Erpff House dates from about 1750 to 1780 and was constructed by Philip Erpff. Erpff and his wife arrived in the colony as redemptioners and grew prosperous, becoming prominent members of the community and of the Lutheran Church. In 1799 the couple deeded a lot on Main Street to the Lutheran Church for use as a church school. The house was bought in 1843 by Abraham Rex, another leading citizen, who was married to Elizabeth Schaeffer, granddaughter of Henry Schaeffer, the town's founder. Rex also built a general store on the square that remained in operation. The house has stayed with Rex's descendants. The two-and-a-half-story dwelling has a center hall plan, large limestone quoins, and a kitchen fireplace. Its outbuildings include a washhouse, a spring house, and an underground cold storage room with a vaulted stone ceiling. The property is valued as a representative example of rural Germanic building traditions in Lebanon County.","period_of_significance":"c. 1750-1780","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"The house, outbuildings, and grounds are in excellent condition and have been changed very little over the years.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.242535-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/79002287.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002287/a7d1d81a6a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002287/a7d1d81a6a-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Erpff_House_LebCo_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:Erpff_House_LebCo_PA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998055","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Erpff_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7183521"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/lebanon-county/erpff-philip-house-79002287/"}