{"nrhp_refnum":"97001252","name":"Dawson Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"[Roughly bounded by Howell St., Middle Alley, Youghiogheny R, River Rd., and Spring, and Locust Alleys","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dawson","county":"Fayette County","state":"PA","lat":40.04753231650005,"lon":-79.66010427321672,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-11-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of 120 buildings in the borough of Dawson, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, on a narrow flood plain of the Youghiogheny River about five miles west of Connellsville. It is concentrated around Main and Railroad Streets and includes residences, commercial and office buildings, and miscellaneous buildings.","why_significant":"The district is significant for industry as a residential and commercial community for management, workers and the Cochran family during the bituminous coal and coke era. It is also significant for architecture as a vital river community whose variety of frame, brick and vernacular buildings, constructed between 1870 and 1947, reflects coal and coke prosperity. Most of its buildings survive from that period.","narrative":"Dawson is a small borough of 120 buildings on a flood plain of the Youghiogheny River in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Its streets hold frame and brick houses, commercial blocks and vernacular working-class dwellings built from about 1870 to 1947. The town grew from land settled by John Smilie in the late 1780s and was laid out by Alfred Howell in 1866 and 1871. It was incorporated in 1872. Dawson served as a residential and commercial centre for managers, miners and the Cochran family, whose Washington Coal and Coke Company operated nearby mines and a coke works. The population reached 668 in 1890 and about 1,800 by 1910. Its 1897 Queen Anne bank building, with a corner turret and slate mansard roof, and the 1927 Gothic Methodist church are among the most prominent buildings. Many houses retain original materials. The district reflects a town that combined elite houses and workers' homes side by side, unlike company patch towns.","period_of_significance":"1870-1947","architect_builder":"Thomas Pringle (architect, for the Methodist church)","architectural_style":"Queen Anne, Classical Revival, Bungalow, Greek Revival, Italianate, Colonial Revival, Gothic, Art Moderne, vernacular","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Twelve of the 120 buildings are non-contributing; the document describes the architectural fabric as largely intact.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:38.003067-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/97001252.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97001252/db989553e6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97001252/db989553e6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Canadian2006","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_National_Bank_of_Dawson_2011.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Canadian2006</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:First_National_Bank_of_Dawson_2011.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995214","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawson_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5242664"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/fayette-county/dawson-historic-district-97001252/"}