{"nrhp_refnum":"84003401","name":"Leas, Benjamin B., House","other_names":["Shirleysburg Female Seminary","Fort Shirley Site","Rockview","The"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"US 522","address_restricted":false,"city":"Shirleysburg","county":"Huntingdon County","state":"PA","lat":40.29908072750004,"lon":-77.8712625366715,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-02-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two and a half story Greek Revival brick house in the village of Shirleysburg, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, built about 1850 for Benjamin B. Leas, with an attached kitchen and servants' quarters. The property is also known as the Fort Shirley site, locally called \"The Rock.\"","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is a well preserved and little altered example of a Greek Revival urban townhouse in rural Huntingdon County, with facade features closely resembling the Grubb Mansion in Lancaster. The site is also associated with the 1755/56 Fort Shirley and with a potential historic military archaeological site. Leas's railroad involvement and the later use of the house as a school and home for the German Baptist Church are cited as further historical context.","narrative":"Built about 1850 on a small rise above Fort Run in Shirleysburg, this two and a half story brick house is a Greek Revival building measuring 41 by 32 feet, with an attached kitchen and servants' quarters. Benjamin B. Leas, a merchant and tanner, had bought the tract in 1843 and was later a commissioner to the Pennsylvania Railroad. The house has a central hall with an open stair, twelve rooms and original hardware, and a portico with fluted Doric columns and dentils at the cornice. Its facade is regarded as closely resembling the Grubb Mansion in Lancaster. The land is the site of Fort Shirley, a French and Indian War stockade built in 1755/56, and its archaeological potential has been noted although no testing has been done. The house later served as the Shirleysburg Female Seminary, a home for elderly members of the German Baptist Church, and an academy. Its exterior changes, including new sash, are mostly modest, and the nomination notes that road work on U.S. 522 could affect its setting.","period_of_significance":"1755-1850","architect_builder":"Benjamin B. Leas (house)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The interior is described as in excellent condition; the building now serves as offices for the Aughwick Machine Company.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:32.620561-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/84003401.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84003401/0735bb8e7d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84003401/0735bb8e7d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Generic1139","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benjamin_B._Leas_House_south_and_east_sides.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Generic1139</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:Benjamin_B._Leas_House_south_and_east_sides.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998157","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_B._Leas_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4888230"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/huntingdon-county/leas-benjamin-b-house-84003401/"}