{"nrhp_refnum":"82003562","name":"English, William, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"11291 OH 47","address_restricted":false,"city":"Versailles","county":"Darke County","state":"OH","lat":40.251523450000036,"lon":-84.45946573999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-06-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story painted brick Italianate farmhouse built in 1881 on a small hill along State Route 47 near Versailles, Wayne Township, Darke County, Ohio. It was designed and built by farmer William English.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is architecturally significant because its west-facing recessed porch doors work as an astronomical calendar and sundial. At noon on the equinox, summer solstice and winter solstice, sunlight shines directly into particular doors. It compares this to Stonehenge and notes the house's largely original condition.","narrative":"Standing on a small hill overlooking farmland in Wayne Township, this two-story painted brick farmhouse was built in 1881 by William English, an Irish immigrant who settled the 160-acre farm in 1823. The Italianate house has twenty-five windows with stone segmental arches, keystones and lugsills, and nine doors with transoms. Four decorative porches step back to shelter recessed doors on the west side. The house is oriented by compass so that at noon on the equinox, summer solstice and winter solstice, sunlight shines directly into particular doors, making the building a large sundial and seasonal calendar. Inside, ash window moulding trimmed in walnut from the farm differs from room to room, and built-in wooden closets are reported to be the first in the area. English also owned a hollow brick factory on the farm. The house was sized for his family and the workers who lived with them, and descendants have kept it largely original.","period_of_significance":"1881","architect_builder":"William English","architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as largely in original condition apart from some changes at the eaves; the interior has been carefully maintained. Used as a private residence and occupied.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:11.965723-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/82003562.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003562/726bfa4ae5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003562/726bfa4ae5-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_English_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_English_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71987969","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_English_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8008619"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/darke-county/english-william-house-82003562/"}