{"nrhp_refnum":"85002348","name":"Como Farm","other_names":["Site #50-1"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Broad Run Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"W. Bradford Twp.","county":"Chester County","state":"PA","lat":39.952295667000044,"lon":-75.70685865599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-09-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A stone farmhouse with a frame banked barn on about 8 acres in West Bradford Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, on Broad Run Road overlooking the Broad Run valley. The core dates to the early 18th century, with a datestone of 1702 and an enlargement dated 1801 or 1802.","why_significant":"The house is significant for its early 18th-century hall/parlor plan, which the nomination compares to the 1755 Carpenter Farm nearby, and for its association with agriculturist John Beale Bordley, who bought the property in 1792 and is credited with early scientific farming in the West Branch Brandywine corridor. The barn is also counted as a contributing resource.","narrative":"Como Farm is a stone farmhouse on Broad Run Road in West Bradford Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, on a hill above the Broad Run valley. Its core is three bays wide and double pile, with a full basement and a datestone of 1702. The house was enlarged in 1802, when a central hall was added, and the enlargement brought a graceful open string stairway, a gable roof, and six-over-two paneled doors. The basement preserves the original two-room hall/parlor plan, which closely resembles that of the 1755 Carpenter Farm downstream. A frame banked barn also contributes to the property. John Beale Bordley bought the land in 1792 and named it after the Italian birthplace of Pliny. Bordley was a leading agriculturist whose experiments in crop rotation and soil fertility were influential. His purchase is regarded as the earliest recorded attempt at scientific agriculture in the corridor.","period_of_significance":"1700-1799; 1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Georgian Quaker-built stone farmhouse","criteria":[],"status_note":"The property is owned by a non-profit charitable organization and is not open for prolonged public visitation.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:32.224282-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/85002348.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002348/3a4846f55c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002348/3a4846f55c-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Como_Farm.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Como_Farm.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71992508","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Como_Farm_(Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q120108055"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/chester-county/como-farm-85002348/"}