{"nrhp_refnum":"79002368","name":"Plumer House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Vine and S. Water St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"West Newton","county":"Westmoreland County","state":"PA","lat":40.20915963300007,"lon":-79.76924475599998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-12-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-a-half-story frame and brick house on Water Street beside the Youghiogheny River in West Newton, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. It was begun in 1814 by John Campbell Plumer and enlarged with a brick addition in 1846.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is a good example of an early nineteenth-century frontier dwelling and is tied to the Plumer family, whose members were prominent in the region. Plumer ran mills, helped build a toll bridge, held military, legislative and local office, and was active in the Presbyterian church and in promoting free schools. The house is also presented as a surviving link to the river trade, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the early history of West Newton.","narrative":"Built on Water Street beside the Youghiogheny River in West Newton, the house began as a frame dwelling in 1814 for John Campbell Plumer, who had married Elizabeth Peairs that April. A brick addition followed in 1846. The original section has two rooms on each floor, and the addition adds rooms and a hall, with a recessed paneled door and a transom. Plumer ran a grist mill and saw mill that he enlarged into one of the largest in the area, and he built a dam across the river with a lock to keep navigation open. He also supervised construction of a toll bridge that replaced the ferry at West Newton. Elected to the state legislature in 1830 and the Pennsylvania Senate in 1839, he was known locally as Squire Plumer. The house is regarded as a good example of early frontier building and a surviving link to the region's river trade, roads, and railroad development. It was threatened with sale in 1965, which led to the founding of the historical society that saved it.","period_of_significance":"1814: 1846","architect_builder":"John C. Plumer","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Restored under the West Newton Historical Society, which bought the property in 1965 and later turned title to the borough.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:34.051698-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/79002368.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002368/05c75fbda9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002368/05c75fbda9-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Canadian2006","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plumer_House_West_Newton.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Canadian2006</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plumer_House_West_Newton.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998694","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumer_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7205422"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/westmoreland-county/plumer-house-79002368/"}