{"nrhp_refnum":"83002231","name":"Irving Female College","other_names":["Irving Manor Apartments &amp","Seidle Memorial Hospital"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Filbert, Main, and Simpson Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Mechanicsburg","county":"Cumberland County","state":"PA","lat":40.21401727250006,"lon":-76.99989508210177,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-05-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Irving Female College complex is a group of three historic buildings and grounds on the outskirts of Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, west of Filbert Street between Main and Simpson Streets. It comprises Irving Hall, Columbian Hall and the former President's Mansion.","why_significant":"The complex is associated with Irving Female College, founded in 1856, which provided advanced education for women and served as a social and cultural center for Mechanicsburg. The nomination states that the college was the second oldest female college in Pennsylvania and that it was the first female college in the state to grant degrees in arts and sciences. The buildings and landscape are described as retaining much of their original exterior appearance despite adaptive reuse.","narrative":"Irving Hall, begun in 1856 on land donated by Solomon Perry Gorgas, anchors a campus on the edge of Mechanicsburg. Its Italianate front has paired windows, French doors and a porch and balcony, and it was later extended with an east wing. Columbian Hall, built in 1893 with a projecting stair tower, and the Spanish Renaissance President's Mansion, built in 1911 for President Edmond Campbell, complete the group. The college enrolled women from the region and was described as a social center for the rural town, offering music, literature and drama. Its alumnae included Jane Deeter Ripon, president of the Girl Scouts of America, and Ida Kast, the county's first female lawyer. The college closed after the Great Depression, and the buildings were later adapted for apartments and hospital use while their exteriors remain largely intact.","period_of_significance":"1856-1930","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate (Irving Hall and Columbian Hall); Spanish Renaissance (President's Mansion)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Irving Hall and Columbian Hall have been converted to apartments; the President's Mansion is part of Seidle Memorial Hospital.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.20597-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/83002231.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83002231/c4836241cd-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83002231/c4836241cd-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Vamanos2000","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NRHP_Irving_Female_College_East.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Vamanos2000</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:NRHP_Irving_Female_College_East.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71996458","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Female_College","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15228828"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/cumberland-county/irving-female-college-83002231/"}