Brodhead Farm
Also known as: Wheat Plains
Why it's listed
Set at the foot of a steep ridge near U.S. 209 in Bushkill, Pike County, the Brodhead farm complex centres on a large two-and-a-half-storey frame farmhouse with clapboard siding and a slate roof. The house began in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century, and its earliest portion may be the remains of a log structure. Garret Brodhead, a veteran of the American Revolution, settled the land in the 1770s, acquiring more than 370 acres along the Delaware River. The family's prosperity allowed them to enlarge the house repeatedly, so it now shows Dutch-style flared eaves, an exposed stone chimney back, Victorian and later dormers, and a twentieth-century porch. The property stayed in Brodhead hands until 1871, when it passed to Cornelius Swartwood, and it returned to the family within twenty-three years. The farm is regarded as an unusually well-preserved example of prosperous riverside agricultural estates in the valley.
Significance in brief: The farm is significant as the homestead of one of the earliest families to settle on the river flats of the Pennsylvania side of the Upper Delaware Valley, and as one of the most continuously prosperous farms in the area. The farmhouse's successive additions are regarded as an expression of changing domestic architectural traditions in the region.
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 79000242, listed July 23, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | NE of Bushkill on U.S. 209, Bushkill |
|---|---|
| County | Pike County |
| Listed | July 23, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79000242 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1700-1899 |
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Exploration/Settlement, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The farm is described as a working farm. |
| Acreage | 9.4 |
| Coordinates | 41.14992, -74.91953 (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 79000242.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4972991
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.