{"nrhp_refnum":"82003774","name":"McAllister-Beaver House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"817 E. Bishop St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bellefonte","county":"Centre County","state":"PA","lat":40.913803320000056,"lon":-77.76421405199994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-02-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, five-bay limestone farmhouse with Georgian plan at 817 East Bishop Street (Pa. Route 550) in Bellefonte, Centre County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the last rural farm dwellings that surrounded the borough.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is one of the most refined stone farmhouses in Centre County, combining a Georgian plan with Greek Revival decorative features such as cast-iron lintels and a recessed entranceway with Ionic columns. It is associated with Hugh N. McAllister, a founder of the Farmers' High School (now Penn State), and with James A. Beaver, a Civil War officer and later Governor of Pennsylvania.","narrative":"Built around 1850 as a two-story limestone farmhouse on a Georgian center-hall plan, the house stands on land once part of a 229-acre tract bought by ironmaster Philip Benner in 1808. Hugh N. McAllister, a lawyer who had grown up on a farm, bought several adjoining tracts in 1850 and set up a 100-acre farm here. He later helped found the Farmers' High School, now Pennsylvania State University. His son-in-law, James A. Beaver, a Union officer who lost a leg in the Civil War, inherited the property after McAllister's death in 1873 and was later elected Governor of Pennsylvania. The house is noted for its evenly coursed limestone facade, cast-iron lintels with a flower motif, and a recessed entranceway flanked by sidelights and Ionic columns. Its 1913 kitchen ell and window bay are described as sympathetic additions, and the house stands as a well-preserved example of its type amid recent suburban growth.","period_of_significance":"1850-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Georgian; Greek Revival","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"The house remains in the hands of the Beaver family, and the nomination notes it is occupied by a descendant.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:13:12.302437-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/82003774.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003774/b9b3b0fb79-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003774/b9b3b0fb79-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:McAllister-Beaver_House_Aug_10.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog (talk)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:McAllister-Beaver_House_Aug_10.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994616","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McAllister-Beaver_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6799916"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/centre-county/mcallister-beaver-house-82003774/"}