{"nrhp_refnum":"87000675","name":"Brush Creek Salems Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SE of Westmoreland City on Brush Creek Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Westmoreland City","county":"Westmoreland County","state":"PA","lat":40.31936487300004,"lon":-79.65802535699999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-05-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Brush Creek Salems Church is a brick church on a ridge in Westmoreland City, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, with its main two-story building constructed in 1816-1820 and a one-story addition attached to the north side in 1958.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church's architecture is distinctive among pre-1850 churches in western Pennsylvania, being described as the only known brick church with Georgian ornamentation built there before the mid-nineteenth century. Its two-story interior with a gallery surrounding the pulpit on three sides and its finely carved woodwork are presented as rare for churches of its date in the region.","narrative":"Brush Creek Salems Church is a brick church built between 1816 and 1820 on a ridge in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Its builder, Jacob Dry, a German craftsman, gave the two-story gable-roofed building Georgian ornamentation, including a pedimented entry with a denticulated cornice and rosettes, and fluted columns and festooned carrying beams inside. The interior has a second-floor gallery on three sides that wraps around the chancel, with pews facing the pulpit from three directions. The congregation was first organized about 1773 and built a log meetinghouse in 1797 before the brick church replaced it. The church is regarded as the only known brick church with exterior Georgian detailing built in western Pennsylvania before the mid-nineteenth century. Its gallery plan and delicate woodwork are considered rare for churches of its period in the region. A brick addition from 1958 stands to the north, designed in a sympathetic style, and the older building remains largely unaltered on the outside.","period_of_significance":"1816-1820","architect_builder":"Jacob Dry (builder)","architectural_style":"Georgian ornamentation","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Excellent condition with excellent integrity; original building largely unaltered on the exterior, with the 1958 addition connected by a twenty-foot connecting way.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:32.077224-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/87000675.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87000675/efe56df8ec-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87000675/efe56df8ec-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Matthew Newberg","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brush_creek_salems_church.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Matthew Newberg</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:Brush_creek_salems_church.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995865","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brush_Creek_Salems_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4979652"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/westmoreland-county/brush-creek-salems-church-87000675/"}