{"nrhp_refnum":"97000340","name":"Parker, John P., House","other_names":["Bro-56-17"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"300 Front St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ripley","county":"Brown County","state":"OH","lat":38.750234241000044,"lon":-83.84899661599997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-02-18","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1997-02-18","areas_of_significance":["Social History","Invention"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, L-shaped brick dwelling at 300 Front Street in Ripley, Brown County, Ohio, beside the Ohio River. It dates to about 1853 (possibly earlier) and was once part of a residence and iron foundry complex.","why_significant":"The house is significant for its association with John P. Parker, a former slave who became a conductor on the Underground Railroad, repeatedly crossing into slave territory to lead people to freedom. Parker also lived and worked here as a foundry owner and inventor, one of the few African Americans to obtain U.S. patents in the nineteenth century. It was designated a National Historic Landmark under NHL Criteria 1 and 2.","narrative":"Overlooking the Ohio River at the western end of Front Street in Ripley, this two-story brick house was the home and workplace of John P. Parker, a formerly enslaved man who bought his own freedom in 1845. Parker lived here from about 1853 and ran an iron foundry on the site until his death in 1900, patenting several inventions. He also worked as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, often crossing into Kentucky to rescue fugitives and guide them north, despite a bounty on his head. Few African Americans received patents in the nineteenth century, and Parker's role is well documented in local records and his own recollections. The house is the only survivor of a larger complex; the foundry, machine shop and sheds are gone, and a fire in 1889 destroyed the rear works. The building is now vacant and badly deteriorated, with a rusted roof and fallen interior walls. It was recognized as a National Historic Landmark for its link to the antislavery movement.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1853-1865","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"No Style","criteria":["A","B"],"status_note":"Listed as vacant/not in use and described as being in a severe state of dilapidation, with a deteriorated roof, missing window glass and collapsed interior partitions.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.899567-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/97000340_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000340/9fb50f5de1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000340/9fb50f5de1-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_P._Parker_House_from_northwest.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_P._Parker_House_from_northwest.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"85000552","name":"Ripley Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/ripley-historic-district-85000552/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986445","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_P._Parker_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6251677"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/brown-county/parker-john-p-house-97000340/"}