{"nrhp_refnum":"92000936","name":"Leiby, Jacob, Farm","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"PA 143, Perry Township","address_restricted":false,"city":"Virginville","county":"Berks County","state":"PA","lat":40.533070251000055,"lon":-75.87674812033467,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-07-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A farm and adjoining quarry in Virginville, Greenwich Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, on Route 143 along the west bank of Maiden Creek. The farmstead's buildings and walls are built of stone quarried on the property, developed by Jacob Leiby between 1829 and 1884.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the farm is significant in agriculture and architecture under Criteria A and C. Its buildings were all built by one man from products of his own quarry, with stone used even for elements usually made of wood, such as fence posts and water troughs. It is described as representative of northern Berks County farms of the 1829-1840 period and as exceptional for its integrity and its association with one family.","narrative":"Built from 1829 onward, the Leiby farm in Virginville, Berks County, is a farmstead made almost entirely of stone cut from the quarry on its own land. Jacob Leiby, who ran the quarry from 1825 and died in 1884, developed the farm between 1829 and 1884. The farmhouse carries a datestone with his name and the year 1829. Its main buildings include a Federal-plan house, a Pennsylvania bank barn, a wagon shed, a cider house, a blacksmith shop later used as a school and then as a residence, a bakeoven and a double ground cellar. Stone was also used for fence posts, water troughs, paths, steps and garden edging. The quarry produced a sandstone known as Leiby blue stone, prized for its large slabs, and it supplied building stone across the region in the mid-1800s. The farm is regarded as a showcase of that stone and of the Pennsylvania German self-sufficient farmstead. Leiby's cemetery monument is also of stone, and the farm remained a working property through the twentieth century.","period_of_significance":"1829-1940","architect_builder":"Jacob Leiby (builder)","architectural_style":"Vernacular Federal House; Pennsylvania Bank Barn","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Used for general crop production; the document states the buildings remain intact and in good condition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:35.71428-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/92000936.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000936/66b5afe3a7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000936/66b5afe3a7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Shuvaev","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jacob_Leiby_Farm_Tenant_House.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Shuvaev</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:Jacob_Leiby_Farm_Tenant_House.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71992312","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Leiby_Farm","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6118926"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/berks-county/leiby-jacob-farm-92000936/"}