{"nrhp_refnum":"96000087","name":"Caldwell Tavern","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Jct. of US 40 and TR 474, Buffalo Township","address_restricted":false,"city":"Claysville","county":"Washington County","state":"PA","lat":40.13992288600008,"lon":-80.47717999899999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-02-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-a-half story, five-bay brick tavern in Buffalo Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, about a half mile west of the S Bridge and set fifty-five feet off the south side of U.S. Route 40 (the National Road). It was built c. 1840 with a kitchen ell to the rear.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the tavern is significant for its association with the early nineteenth century commercial development of the National Road and for its vernacular Greek Revival architecture. It is described as one of four documented tavern survivors in Buffalo Township and as retaining more interior woodwork and floor plan integrity than most surviving National Road taverns.","narrative":"Built around 1840 as a brick tavern on the National Road in Buffalo Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, the two-and-a-half story, five-bay house sits on a low cut sandstone foundation and has a kitchen ell to the rear. James Caldwell began operating a tavern on the site soon after the road opened, and after his death in 1837 his wife Hester ran it until 1873. A fire in 1840 destroyed the earlier building, and Hester rebuilt it. The house is regarded as a good example of vernacular Greek Revival architecture, shown by its narrow sidelights, transom lights and low roof pitch. Its interior keeps much of its woodwork, including bullseye corner blocks and a walk-in kitchen fireplace with a bake oven. Its survival is significant because only about a third of the early National Road taverns are thought to remain, and the Caldwell Tavern is one of four documented survivors in its township. Alterations include the removal of the front porch and enclosure of the rear porches.","period_of_significance":"C. 1840-c. 1853","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Roof is covered with wooden shingles; the front porch was removed in the late twentieth century and the kitchen ell porches were enclosed; the barroom door was replaced with a window.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:38.097096-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/96000087.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000087/932294b91d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000087/932294b91d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Generic1139","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caldwell_Tavern.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Generic1139</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:Caldwell_Tavern.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993981","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caldwell_Tavern","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5019171"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/washington-county/caldwell-tavern-96000087/"}