Douglass, John, House
Also known as: Governor Sproul Birthplace
Why it's listed
A stone farmhouse in Colerain Township, Lancaster County, built in two principal phases, with its core dated by a carved 1769 tablet in the south gable. The two-and-one-half-story house is a three-bay, two-room-deep structure that later gained a two-bay addition after 1815, giving it a five-bay front. The walls are local limestone laid in random fieldstone with flat-stone arches over the first-floor windows. The farmstead includes a bank barn with circular-saw marks and a rare queen-post floor system, a log smokehouse with a V-notched frame, and the stone walls of a carriage shed. Built by John Douglass, who lost the property at a sheriff's sale in 1769, the house passed through several local families. In 1856 it was bought by Clarkson Brosius, a Quaker farmer whose family was active in the Underground Railroad. Later owner Dora Sproul's son, William Cameron Sproul, became governor of Pennsylvania from 1919 to 1923. The house is valued as a well-preserved example of regional stone farmhouse building.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is one of the few remaining 18th century houses in Colerain Township and the oldest in this part of the Octoraro Valley. It is presented as an excellent local example of a vernacular stone farmhouse showing evolutionary growth and Georgian design precedents, and its barn and smokehouse are called representative of local nineteenth century farmstead outbuildings.
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 90001411, listed September 5, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Sproul Rd., S of PA 896, Kirkwood |
|---|---|
| County | Lancaster County |
| Listed | September 5, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90001411 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1769 - 1899 |
| Architectural style | Georgian |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 2 |
| Coordinates | 39.86537, -76.00809 (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 90001411.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6229934
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.