{"nrhp_refnum":"80003468","name":"River Bend Farm","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"N of Spring City on Sanatoga Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Spring City","county":"Chester County","state":"PA","lat":40.20303190000004,"lon":-75.55797283999993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-08-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A pre-Revolutionary stone farmhouse and stone barn on the Schuylkill River in Coventry Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, built by John Hiester shortly after 1765 on land known as Turkey Point.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is a well-preserved example of early Chester County farm architecture, with a colonial plan, high ceilings, keystoned openings, internal chimney and pegged rafters. It also gains local significance from its association with the Hiester family, whose members held Revolutionary military, legislative and county offices. The land is noted for prehistoric archaeological importance.","narrative":"Built of local stone in Coventry Township, Chester County, River Bend Farm is a farmhouse and barn begun by John Hiester shortly after 1765, when his father Daniel took title to the land. The house follows a colonial plan with a full-length central hall, an internal chimney serving fireplaces on both floors, and unusually high ceilings for an early country house. Its stairwell, keystoned openings and 24-lite windows are cited as signs of above-average construction for the area at the time. The farm lies on a bend of the Schuylkill River at a point long used by Native Americans for hunting and as a ford. Hiester was a Revolutionary-era militia officer and state legislator, and several of his family served in county and state office. The nomination places the property's importance in its architecture, its link to the Hiester family, and its archaeological potential. Later additions extend the house to the southwest.","period_of_significance":"c. 1765-70","architect_builder":"John Hiester","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"The form describes the house as altered with later additions, including a kitchen added about 1959, and states the site is partly original.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.7993-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/80003468.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003468/be4ce9eaae-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003468/be4ce9eaae-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:River_Bend_Farm.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:River_Bend_Farm.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998212","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Bend_Farm","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7337136"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/chester-county/river-bend-farm-80003468/"}