Harrison House
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Why it's listed
Centerville's Harrison House began as a five-bay, two and one-half story farmhouse of the Post Colonial Greek Revival type common in Washington County, built around 1845. Later remodeling added a two-story bay window with a turret roof and a square four-story tower, along with segmented round arch windows, stone and brick quoins, skewbacks, keystones, and bracketed eaves. These features turned a plain farm house into a High Victorian Italianate villa, which is unusual in the county. The house sits high on a ridge above Route 40, and its tall chimneys and arched lintels create an irregular skyline. The nomination links the transformation to the prosperity of the farmer-owner after the Civil War. Its architectural design is regarded as the most interesting among the county's remaining buildings of this type, and the house retains much of its character, apart from some replaced window sashes.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is unusual for Washington County because its simple vernacular farmhouse form was transformed with Italianate ornament, bay window with turret roof, and a square four-story tower. It is presented as testimony to the prosperity of the farmer-owner after the Civil War and as among the most interesting architectural remains in the county.
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 74001807, listed December 30, 1974. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Old Rte. 40, Centerville |
|---|---|
| County | Washington County |
| Listed | December 30, 1974 |
| Reference number | 74001807 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1845 and 1870 |
| Architectural style | Italianate (High Victorian Italianate villa), built on a Post Colonial Greek Revival house form |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Excellent condition; some segmented arch sashes have been replaced by flat top sashes; original site |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 40.03880, -79.95306 (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 74001807.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5665683
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.