{"nrhp_refnum":"96001206","name":"Pierce, Jonas J., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"18 E. Shenango St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sharpsville","county":"Mercer County","state":"PA","lat":41.266016379000064,"lon":-80.46973744299999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-10-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story wood-frame Second Empire town residence with an octagonal tower, on a city lot on East Shenango Street in Sharpsville, Mercer County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1868.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an outstanding regional example of the Second Empire style, with bold asymmetric massing, a concave Mansard roof and a tower, and that it retains most of its original interior and exterior detail. It is also linked to the Pierce family, whose wealth from coal and iron shaped the town, and to the Hobbs-designed Godey's Lady's Book house plans that influenced its design.","narrative":"Built in 1868 on East Shenango Street in Sharpsville, this three-story wood-frame house is a full Second Empire residence with a concave Mansard roof, an octagonal tower rising above the third story, and bold bracketed cornices. General James Pierce, whose coal and pig iron businesses made the family the wealthiest in the borough, financed it for his eldest son Jonas and his wife. The house is regarded as an outstanding regional example of the style, and its massing and detailing are considered better preserved than other Second Empire houses in the Shenango Valley. Its design shows the influence of floor plans published in Godey's Lady's Book by Philadelphia designer Isaac Harding Hobbs, though the designer of this house has not been identified. Original chestnut, cherry and walnut woodwork, marble mantels and turned newel posts survive on the main floors. Jonas Pierce lived here until 1918. Around 1942 the house was converted to officers' housing for Camp Reynolds, which added bathrooms and several exterior additions.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1868","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Victorian, Second Empire","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Altered ca. 1942 for officers' apartments at Camp Reynolds and later used as rental apartments","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:35.851667-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/96001206.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96001206/628a799808-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96001206/628a799808-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jonas_J._Pierce_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jonas_J._Pierce_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998139","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonas_J._Pierce_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6272122"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/mercer-county/pierce-jonas-j-house-96001206/"}