Shippen, Judge Henry, House
Also known as: Red Cross Building
Why it's listed
Built in 1838 in Meadville, Pennsylvania, at the northeast corner of Chestnut and Liberty streets, this two and a half story brick house was made for Judge Henry Shippen, who had come to the village in 1825 after his appointment as judge of the Sixth Judicial District. He died a year after completing it, leaving his widow, Margaret, to raise ten children. She hosted numerous Unitarian functions there between 1840 and 1860. In the 1870s her son Evan, an iron furnace manager, remodeled the house from Federal to Second Empire style, adding a mansard roof, a bracketed cornice, a frieze and iron lace porch detailing, and divided the interior into two apartments. The original woodwork was retained. The house is regarded as one of Meadville's finest in-town residences and one of its earliest important dwellings, showing how domestic design changed over the nineteenth century.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is one of Meadville's best examples of a fashionable in-town residence, notable for its fine proportions and workmanship. Its 1870s remodeling from Federal to Second Empire style is said to show the evolution of domestic architectural design in the town. It is also associated with the Shippen family and with Unitarian activity hosted there by Margaret Shippen.
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 84003339, listed June 6, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 403 Chestnut St., Meadville |
|---|---|
| County | Crawford County |
| Listed | June 6, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84003339 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1838-&Later |
| Architectural style | Federal originally; converted to Second Empire style in the 1870s |
| Areas of significance | Law, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Converted into two apartments; the north section was later occupied by the Crawford County Office for the Aging and the south section by the Meadville Chapter of the Red Cross. |
| Acreage | 0.5 |
| Coordinates | 41.63722, -80.14769 (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 84003339.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6302545
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.