Frew, John, House
Also known as: Sterrett, Rachel and Robert, House
Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
Set on a banked site above Sterrett Street in southwestern Pittsburgh, the John Frew House combines two periods of construction. The older section is a three-story fieldstone cabin of about 1790, roughly twenty by sixteen feet, with one room per floor and hand-chiseled stone with square-cut quoins. Around 1840 a five-bay, center-passage Greek Revival house of brick and weatherboard was joined to it, with full-width porches front and back. The nomination regards the stone house as one of the smallest and earliest of the Federal-era stone farmhouses recorded in western Pennsylvania. It describes the Greek Revival section as one of the purest examples of its type in the region, and the combination as unique in Allegheny County. The farm was owned by the Frew family from 1788 and later by the Sterrett and Chess families. Local accounts say it operated a cider mill, and its surrounding outbuildings have since been demolished.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is a rare, well-preserved survivor of early settlement farmsteads in the Pittsburgh area and an unusual example of stone vernacular construction. It also argues that the joining of a Georgian-influenced stone house and a center-passage Greek Revival addition is a rare transitional farmstead design in Allegheny County.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 01000593, listed May 30, 2001. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 105 Sterrett St., Pittsburgh |
|---|---|
| County | Allegheny County |
| Listed | May 30, 2001 |
| Reference number | 01000593 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca.1790 - ca.1840 |
| Architectural style | Early Republic: Georgian Style; Mid-19th Century: Greek Revival Style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Exploration/Settlement, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The nomination states the entire property is in excellent condition; the garage, greenhouses and pool were added in the twentieth century, and the spring house was reconstructed in the early 1980s. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.42954, -80.05855 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 01000593.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6234236
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.