Wetmore House
Also known as: Warren County Historical Society
Why it's listed
Built between 1870 and 1873 in Warren, Pennsylvania, this two-story red brick mansion with a mansard roof follows the Italian Renaissance style. Its walls are double layers of brick separated by an air space, set on a dressed stone water table. The front facade has paired windows, semi-circular on the first floor and flat on the second, with bracketed sills, and a small one-story portico with three-quarter columns. Thomas Struthers, a developer, industrialist and state legislator, had it constructed as a wedding present for his only daughter, Anna Wetmore. The house passed to the Schimmelfeng family in 1893 and was sold to the county commissioners in 1950 for use as a courthouse annex. Interior fittings were removed and altered during that period. The Warren County Historical Society acquired it in 1964 and has partly restored it. It is regarded as one of the finest Victorian buildings in northwestern Pennsylvania and one of the more important structures in the area.
Significance in brief: The house was built by Thomas Struthers as a wedding gift for his daughter Anna Wetmore and is tied to Struthers, a prominent 19th-century Warren citizen. Its exterior architecture is described as largely intact and as one of the fine examples of Victorian architecture in northwestern Pennsylvania.
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 75001672, listed April 28, 1975. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 210 4th Ave., Warren |
|---|---|
| County | Warren County |
| Listed | April 28, 1975 |
| Reference number | 75001672 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1870-1873 |
| Architectural style | Italian Renaissance |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Altered interior; restored in part after the Warren County Historical Society acquired it in 1964; housing the Historical Society. |
| Acreage | 0.3 |
| Within district | Warren Historic District |
| Coordinates | 41.84828, -79.14752 (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 75001672.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7990137
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.