{"nrhp_refnum":"84003188","name":"Cox, Hewson, House","other_names":["Kate Mansion-Snedesford"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Church Farm Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"West Whiteland","county":"Chester County","state":"PA","lat":40.04764775800004,"lon":-75.60619448999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-08-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story stuccoed stone mansion in the Rural Gothic or Cottage style on Church Farm Road in West Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, built beginning in 1854 and known as the Kates Mansion since 1904. It is accompanied by a contributing carriage house.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an excellent example of mid-nineteenth century Gothic Revival domestic design, inspired by the designs of Andrew Jackson Downing, and an early introduction of Gothic Revival elements into the Great Valley. Its 1904 alterations, in the Tudor or Baronial Manor style, are described as not obscuring the original design.","narrative":"Built beginning in 1854 on a 312-acre tract in the Great Valley, this two-story stuccoed stone mansion in the Cottage Style was begun by Hewson Cox, who died in 1859. The house has a cross-shaped core, steeply pitched gables with lancet windows, and diamond-paned windows, and it was regarded as a mansion from the start. In 1904 Clarence Sears Kates bought the estate and commissioned Milton Medary to renovate it, adding a Tudor-style library and music room with a balcony for an organ, stained glass, and gothic vaults. The original core was left largely intact. The house is significant as an early example of Gothic Revival design in the region, shaped by Downing's published designs. Kates later helped establish Church Farm School, a farm and trade school for orphaned boys, and the property was bought by the school in the 1950s.","period_of_significance":"1840-1859","architect_builder":"Milton Medary (architect, for the 1904 renovation)","architectural_style":"Rural Gothic / Cottage Style","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Church Farm School owns the property and the house now serves as a dormitory.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:34.199765-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/84003188.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84003188/805c3c971d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84003188/805c3c971d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hewson_Cox_House_1.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hewson_Cox_House_1.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71992617","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hewson_Cox_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5748572"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/chester-county/cox-hewson-house-84003188/"}