Hughes House
Why it's listed
Built of stone into a sloping bank in Jefferson, Greene County, the Hughes House is a two-and-a-half story Western Pennsylvania vernacular dwelling with a smaller one-and-a-half story extension on its north gable. Thomas Hughes built it in 1814, the same year he and another large landowner laid out plans for the village of Jefferson. Hughes had moved to the Carmichael's Valley from Virginia in 1771 and became known as a fierce Indian fighter who preferred to defend his own cabin rather than the local fort. In August 1791 he led around 30 men with blackened faces in an attack on William Faulkner's home, protesting Alexander Hamilton's whiskey tax. Hughes was later a justice of the peace and county commissioner, and he was an early entrepreneur in mining surface outcrops of bituminous coal. The house is regarded as typical of frontier dwellings in this section of the state.
Significance in brief: The nomination links the house to Thomas Hughes, a settler who led an 1791 protest against the whiskey tax and helped lay out the village of Jefferson in 1814. The house is argued to be typical of frontier dwellings in this part of the state, and it is also associated with Hughes's early coal exploitation.
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 72001124, listed December 27, 1972. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Hatfield St., Jefferson Township, Jefferson |
|---|---|
| County | Greene County |
| Listed | December 27, 1972 |
| Reference number | 72001124 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1814 |
| Architectural style | Western Pennsylvania vernacular |
| Areas of significance | Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The house is owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is to be renovated as a museum. |
| Acreage | 1.8 |
| Coordinates | 39.93277, -80.05977 (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 72001124.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5933364
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.