{"nrhp_refnum":"88003048","name":"Collen Brook Farm","other_names":["Collenbrook"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Off Mansion and Marvine Rds.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Upper Darby Twnshp.","county":"Delaware County","state":"PA","lat":39.951578899000026,"lon":-75.32085946499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-12-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A stone farmhouse and related outbuildings on about 7.3 acres in Upper Darby Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, surrounded by modern residential subdivisions. The main house is a 2 1/2 storey, six-bay, double-pile Georgian center hall house with Federal interior detailing, built in phases from about 1700 to 1794.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the property is significant under criterion B for its association with George Smith (1804-1882), whose work as principal compiler and promoter of the 1834 and 1836 Pennsylvania Education Acts created the statewide public school system. It is also significant under criterion C as a well-preserved vernacular Georgian farmhouse with high-quality Federal interior woodwork attributed to master carpenter Mordecai Lawrence.","narrative":"Built in stages from about 1700 to 1794 on a knoll above Collen Brook in what is now Upper Darby Township, this stone farmhouse grew from a single room into a two-and-a-half storey Georgian center hall house with Federal interior detailing. Its 1794 section, added by Abraham Lewis III, holds the most elaborate woodwork, including corner fireplaces, Doric eared surrounds, and a built-in cupboard with dentil fretwork. The master carpenter Mordecai Lawrence is credited with this interior work, and the nomination describes it as his earliest provable example. The property is also tied to educator and state senator George Smith, who chaired the Senate Committee on Education and drove the passage of the state education laws of April 1, 1834 and June 13, 1836. Smith lived here from his marriage in 1829 until his death in 1882. A 1782 stone springhouse and a ca. 1870 carriage house also remain on the grounds.","period_of_significance":"1829-1882","architect_builder":"Lawrence, Mordecai (carpenter, 1794)","architectural_style":"COLONIAL; Georgian center hall plan with Federal detailing (vernacular Georgian)","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Recently the property has been rented; the Smith family has owned it and rented it from 1957 to the present.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:36.520645-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/88003048.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88003048/48cfbc345a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88003048/48cfbc345a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"User:Smallbones on English Wikipedia.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CollenbrookFarm.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Smallbones on English Wikipedia.</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CollenbrookFarm.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998438","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collen_Brook_Farm","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5147033"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/delaware-county/collen-brook-farm-88003048/"}