{"nrhp_refnum":"80003453","name":"Ayres, Bucher, Farm","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SW of Pine Grove Mills on Whitehall Rd., Pennsylvania Furnace","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pine Grove Mills","county":"Centre County","state":"PA","lat":40.72412551300005,"lon":-77.9650470025128,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-12-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A farm complex of four buildings on Whitehall Road in Ferguson Township, western Centre County, Pennsylvania, about one and one-half miles east of Pennsylvania Furnace. Its main house was erected in 1858 and is made up of three connected sections: the residence, a servants' quarters block, and a pumphouse and cistern, along with outbuildings.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the farm is significant for its aesthetic planning and detailing, which it calls an excellent example of fashionable rural living of the mid-to-late 1800s, and for its functional layout, especially porches that served as covered circulation to the outbuildings. It also links the farm to ironmaster John Lyon and to Colonel Bucher Ayres, two figures in the development of early Ferguson Township. The Greek Revival influence is described as unusual in Centre County.","narrative":"Built in 1858 on Whitehall Road in Ferguson Township, about a mile and a half east of Pennsylvania Furnace, this farm complex includes a main house of three connected sections, a servants' quarters block, a pumphouse and cistern, and several outbuildings, among them a smoke house and an unusually large outhouse with seven seats. The main block follows a Georgian plan with a Greek Revival portico of fluted Ionic columns, and its fireplaces have marble mantels. Contractor George Reynolds built it for Bucher Ayres, a railroad official and colonel, and his wife Jane Lyon, daughter of ironmaster John Lyon, who gave the couple the farm tract as a wedding gift. Its importance rests on its consistent architectural detailing and its functional planning, including porches that gave covered access to the outbuildings. The farm is also tied to the early development of Pennsylvania Furnace. It is regarded as one of the best-preserved affluent historic farms in Centre County.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"George Reynolds (builder)","architectural_style":"Georgian with Greek Revival elements","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied by descendants of the family that bought the farmhouse in 1913.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:34.609215-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/80003453.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003453/8e0bc5bcb3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003453/8e0bc5bcb3-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bucher_Ayres_House_Centre_Co_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:Bucher_Ayres_House_Centre_Co_PA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997614","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucher_Ayres_Farm","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4982689"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/centre-county/ayres-bucher-farm-80003453/"}