{"nrhp_refnum":"96001209","name":"Frost, Josiah, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"S side of US 40, W of Searight's Corners, Menallen Township","address_restricted":false,"city":"New Salem","county":"Fayette County","state":"PA","lat":39.95511745600004,"lon":-79.80565316799994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-10-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story sandstone house on the south side of the National Road (U.S. Route 40) at Searight's Corners, Menallen Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, built ca. 1816-19 by Josiah Frost.","why_significant":"The house is regarded as the only surviving building of the Searight Tavern complex, an important stop on the National Road during its early nineteenth-century heyday. It is also presented as a good example of vernacular Federal-style architecture in southwestern Pennsylvania, with retained features such as the massive end chimneys, boxed cornice, and paneled wood doors.","narrative":"Built of coursed, hammer-dressed sandstone around 1816-19, this two-story house sits about twenty feet from the south side of the National Road at Searight's Corners in Menallen Township, Fayette County. Its rectangular plan, symmetrical four-bay front, and massive end chimneys reflect the vernacular Federal style. Josiah Frost, whose initials are carved on the east corner of the wall, likely used it as a residence or as a support building for the Searight Tavern across the road. William Searight acquired the house in 1821 as part of a 113-acre sale, and the tavern grew into one of the largest along the road in Pennsylvania, offering blacksmithing, wagon and saddle making, a post office, and a general store. The house is the only remaining building from that complex. Its period of significance runs to 1853, when the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad reduced traffic on this stretch of road. Its surviving form recalls the crossroads' role for drovers, wagoners, and stagecoach travelers.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1816-53","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Altered rear and southeast end, including a 1930s concrete-block rear addition and 1970s window replacement; the document does not state current use.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:36.580438-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/96001209.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96001209/7139d6bdf6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96001209/7139d6bdf6-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Josiah_Frost_House_from_east.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Josiah_Frost_House_from_east.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71992912","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josiah_Frost_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6290494"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/fayette-county/frost-josiah-house-96001209/"}