{"nrhp_refnum":"86000865","name":"Bliss, Phillip Paul, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Rome","county":"Bradford County","state":"PA","lat":41.85809269500004,"lon":-76.34199418899993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-04-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A clapboard wood-frame house in Rome, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with a two-story front section and a one-story rear ell. It was built in 1863-1864 for the gospel songwriter Phillip Paul Bliss.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant for its association with Phillip Paul Bliss, a nineteenth-century composer of gospel songs whose hymns were widely used in revival meetings. It was his longest-held home in Pennsylvania and the place where he wrote some of his hymns. The house retains most of its original interior and exterior features.","narrative":"Built in 1863-1864 in Rome, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, this clapboard wood-frame house has a two-story front section, a one-story rear ell and a simple vernacular plan with Greek Revival touches such as eave returns. Its original pine floors, plain moldings and many original door hinges and latches survive, although water damage led to replacement of plaster in three rooms with masonite. The house is important because it was the home of gospel songwriter Phillip Paul Bliss, who bought the plot and had it built shortly after marrying Lucy J. Young in 1859 and moving to Rome as a young man. Bliss used it as his home in Pennsylvania for much of his career and is said to have written some of his hymns there. He later worked in Chicago and toured with evangelist Dwight L. Moody, writing more than 300 hymns, including Hold the Fort and Pull for the Shore. He and his wife died in a train wreck in Ashtabula, Ohio, in 1876. The house is the building most closely tied to his life and career.","period_of_significance":"1863-1864","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival influence on a vernacular house type, per the description","criteria":[],"status_note":"Good condition with good integrity; original interior and exterior features largely retained.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:34.042781-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/86000865.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000865/7d701fd0c9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000865/7d701fd0c9-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PP_Bliss_House_Rome_PA_2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PP_Bliss_House_Rome_PA_2.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998017","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillip_Paul_Bliss_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7185777"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/bradford-county/bliss-phillip-paul-house-86000865/"}