{"nrhp_refnum":"90000416","name":"Indian Steps Cabin","other_names":["Indian Steps Museum"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Indian Steps Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Airville","county":"York County","state":"PA","lat":39.86339271400004,"lon":-76.37551993599999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-03-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A stone and stucco building overlooking the Susquehanna River in southern York County, Pennsylvania, near Airville, built in 1912 by attorney John Edward Vandersloot as a museum and memorial to American Indian cultures. It has a stone tower, a circular Kiva room, and cement panels embedded with Indian artifacts.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the cabin is significant for its educational purpose: it was designed as a museum in which Indian artifacts and labels are permanently embedded in the walls and floors. It is described as one of the earliest museums in the country devoted entirely to American Indian cultures and as unusual for incorporating Indian themes into its architecture.","narrative":"Built in 1912 on a terrace above the Susquehanna River in southern York County, Pennsylvania, Indian Steps Cabin combines craftsman and bungalow features with an eclectic mix of stone, stucco and cement. John Edward Vandersloot, a York attorney, built it as a memorial and museum for the Indian cultures he had studied. Stone and cement panels set into the walls and floors hold thousands of artifacts and inscribed tribal names, and the circular Kiva room, with its stained-glass windows by J. Horace Rudy, recreates a Pueblo-style space. Its significance lies in its educational purpose, since the displays are built into the fabric of the building, and it is regarded as one of the earliest museums in the country devoted entirely to American Indian cultures. After Vandersloot's death in 1936 the building passed to a power company and was leased in 1939 to the Conservation Society of York County, which operated it as a public museum.","period_of_significance":"1912 - 1939","architect_builder":"Keyworth, Charles A. (architect); Werner, Frank (contractor, builder)","architectural_style":"Bungalow/craftsman with eclectic influences","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Operated as a public museum by the Conservation Society of York County; visitor count reported for 1988","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:35.866037-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/90000416.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000416/0856ac7b7b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000416/0856ac7b7b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Adampricestudios","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_Steps_Cabin,_Front_with_walkway.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Adampricestudios</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:Indian_Steps_Cabin,_Front_with_walkway.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994451","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Steps_Cabin","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15228653"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/york-county/indian-steps-cabin-90000416/"}