{"nrhp_refnum":"98001428","name":"Hite House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"121 W. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Stoystown Borough","county":"Somerset County","state":"PA","lat":40.10376558200005,"lon":-78.95459749599996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-11-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former hotel at 121 West Main Street in the borough of Stoystown, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, built in 1853 by John H. Hite and enlarged and re-clad in 1920. It is a three-and-a-half-story frame building in brick veneer with an L-shaped plan.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the hotel is significant under Criterion A (Commerce) for its association with servicing travelers on the Lincoln Highway, which was the nation's major east-west route until 1937 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike's opening in 1940. It is presented as a typical example of a Lincoln Highway roadhouse offering food, lodging and entertainment, and it served as the town's focal point for commerce during the 1910s to 1930s.","narrative":"Built in 1853 by John H. Hite on West Main Street in Stoystown, this three-and-a-half-story frame hotel was later encased in buff brick veneer and enlarged in 1920, when a rear ell and a full-facade porch were added. Its four two-story bay windows and wide facade made it one of the largest buildings in the village. Stoystown lay on the Bedford to Greensburg Turnpike, and the hotel served stagecoach and turnpike travelers before the Lincoln Highway replaced the turnpike in 1912. It flourished through the 1920s and 1930s, housing tourists and salesmen, hosting weddings and receptions in its dining room, and employing many local residents. Its importance rests on this role as a roadhouse on the Lincoln Highway. After Route 30 was rerouted around the town in 1937, the hotel declined, was converted to an apartment house in the 1950s, and was later vacated. The Borough now owns the building and is restoring it.","period_of_significance":"1853-1937","architect_builder":"John H. Hite (builder)","architectural_style":"No style","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Vacant and neglected for years; currently undergoing renovation, with the Borough as owner.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:38.025598-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/98001428.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98001428/84a49a1f6e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98001428/84a49a1f6e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Generic1139","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hite_House.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:Hite_House.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"01000605","name":"Stoystown Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/stoystown-historic-district-01000605/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993843","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hite_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5871884"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/somerset-county/hite-house-98001428/"}