Powell, John, 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
A two-story, five-bay farmhouse of stucco over fieldstone stands on Hephzibah Hill Road in East Fallowfield Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Its features include lipped chimneys at both gable ends, nine-over-six and six-over-six windows, shutters, a plain box cornice, an asphalt-shingled gabled roof, double unbalanced main entrances, and a full-width porch. Originally built by John Powell, an eighteenth-century resident of the township, it is a transitional Georgian and Federal farmhouse that served as the center of a grain farm that remained in grain production until after the Civil War. Under later owners Moses and Robert Keech, butter production doubled between 1860 and 1870. The house is regarded as significant for its link to agriculture, both as part of a group of vernacular farmsteads tied to the 1770 to 1820 agricultural period in the township and for its continued role in farming over two centuries as the land moved from grain to dairy to beef cattle.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is significant in the field of agriculture as the center of a farm that was a grain farm until after the Civil War and later passed through dairy and beef cattle operations. It is also presented as one of a local collection of vernacular farmsteads tied to the agricultural era of 1770-1820 in East Fallowfield Township.
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 85001151, listed May 20, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Hephzibah Hill Rd., East Fallowfield Township, Coatesville |
|---|---|
| County | Chester County |
| Listed | May 20, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85001151 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 780 - 1820 |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The farm is described as part of an extensive beef cattle ranch today; the form lists the present use as farm and condition as average. |
| Acreage | 0.3 |
| Coordinates | 39.93799, -75.81369 (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 85001151.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6253278
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.