David Bradford House

Last updated

David Bradford House
DavidBradfordHouse.jpg
David Bradford House, from across South Main Street
USA Pennsylvania location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
David Bradford House
Interactive map showing David Bradford House’s location
Location175 South Main Street, Washington, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 40°10′5″N80°14′42″W / 40.16806°N 80.24500°W / 40.16806; -80.24500
Arealess than one acre
Built1788
Architect David Bradford
Architectural styleLate German Colonial
NRHP reference No. 73001668 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJuly 16, 1973
Designated NHLJuly 28, 1983 [2]
Designated PHMCAugust 01, 1953 [3]
The Pennsylvania state historical marker outside the David Bradford House. David Bradford House historical marker.jpg
The Pennsylvania state historical marker outside the David Bradford House.

The David Bradford House is a historic house museum at 175 South Main Street in Washington, Pennsylvania. Completed in 1788, it was the home of David Bradford, a leader of the Whiskey Rebellion. It has both architectural and historic importance, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1983. [2] It is open weekly between April and November, or by appointment.

Contents

History

The house was built by David Bradford, a successful lawyer and deputy attorney-general for Washington County, Pennsylvania who would later become a leader in the Whiskey Rebellion. It was the first stone house on South Main Street in Washington, Pennsylvania in 1788, which, by frontier standards, ranked as a mansion. The two-story building was built in the Georgian style, with dressed stone four-bay windows. [4] The house has side hall entry with a fanlight transom. [4] The stairway was solid mahogany; the mantel-pieces and other interior furnishings, imported from Philadelphia, were transported across the Alleghenies at considerable expense. While restoring the house a secret underground passage was discovered leading to a nearby ravine. This tunnel was presumably used as an escape route in the event of an attack on the house.

Bradford and his family occupied the house only for 6 years, until 1794, when he fled following the Whiskey Rebellion. [3]

It was in this home [5] that author Rebecca Harding Davis was born on June 24, 1831. [6]

A historical marker honoring her a few blocks away was the first dedicated to a woman in Washington, Pennsylvania. [7]

By the 1930s, the building was in such disrepair that Charles Morse Stotz did not include the building in his The Early Architecture of Western Pennsylvania. [8] However, by the book's 2nd printing in 1966, Stotz himself has led the rehabilitation. [8] Among other extensive modifications, a storefront had added to the house. [4]

In 1953, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission installed a historical marker noting the historic importance of the building. [3] In 1959, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission assumed control of the house and supervised restoration of its eighteenth-century design. They installed furnishings of that time in Pennsylvania that they felt reflected Bradford's place in society. A management agreement was signed in 1982, turning the management of the Bradford House over to the Bradford House Historical Association. The museum is open from early May through mid December, giving group tours and hosting other special events.

The home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1983. [2] [9] It is also designated as a historic public landmark by the Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington County, Pennsylvania</span> County in Pennsylvania, United States

Washington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 209,349. Its county seat is Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington, Pennsylvania</span> City in Pennsylvania, United States

Washington is a city in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,176 at the time of the 2020 census. Part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area in the southwestern part of the state, the city is home to Washington & Jefferson College and Pony League baseball.

David Bradford (1762–1808) was a successful lawyer and deputy attorney-general for Washington County, Pennsylvania in the late 18th century. He was infamous for his association with the Whiskey Rebellion, and his fictionalized escape to the Spanish-owned territory of West Florida with soldiers at his tail. He was later pardoned by President John Adams for his actions. Today, his family's home in Washington, Pennsylvania is a national landmark and museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward G. Acheson House</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

The Edward G. Acheson House is a historic house at 908 West Main St. in Monongahela, Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States. Probably built about 1870, it is notable as the home of Edward G. Acheson (1856-1931), the inventor of carborundum, and as the likely site of its invention. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buckingham Friends Meeting House</span> Historic church in Pennsylvania, United States

The Buckingham Friends Meeting House is a historic Quaker meeting house at 5684 Lower York Road in Buckingham Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Built in 1768 in a "doubled" style, it is nationally significant as a model for many subsequent Friends Meeting Houses. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Espy House</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

The David Espy House is a historic house at 123 East Pitt Street in Bedford, Pennsylvania. Built in 1770, it is significant as the residence used by President George Washington when he was leading the troops that put down the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1983. The house is now used for commercial purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merion Friends Meeting House</span> Historic church in Pennsylvania, United States

The Merion Friends Meeting House is an active and historic Quaker meeting house at 615 Montgomery Avenue in Merion Station, Pennsylvania. Completed about 1715, it is the second oldest Friends meeting house in the United States, with distinctively Welsh architectural features that distinguish it from later meeting houses. It is home to the Merion monthly meeting. The meeting house was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodville (Heidelberg, Pennsylvania)</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

Woodville, also known as the Neville House or John Neville House, is a house which is located on Washington Pike south of Heidelberg, Pennsylvania. It is significant for its association with John Neville, a tax collector whose other house was burned in the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. The oldest portion of the house dates to 1775, with a main section built a decade later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McMillan Hall</span> United States historic place

McMillan Hall is a building on the campus of Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, United States. Built in 1793, it is the only surviving building from Washington Academy. It is the eighth-oldest academic building in the United States that is still in use for its original academic purpose and is the oldest surviving college building west of the Allegheny Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lobb's Cemetery and Yohogania County Courthouse Site</span> Historic cemetery in Pennsylvania, US

Lobb's Cemetery, a.k.a. Lobb's Run Cemetery, is an historic cemetery that is located in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It takes its name from Lobb's Run, a minor tributary of the Monongahela River, which flows by the entrance to the cemetery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Gaddis</span> United States historic place

Fort Gaddis is the oldest known building in Fayette County, Pennsylvania and the second oldest log cabin in Western Pennsylvania. It is located 300 yards (270 m) east of old U.S. Route 119, near the Route 857 intersection in South Union Township, Pennsylvania. Fort Gaddis was built about 1769-74 by Colonel Thomas Gaddis who was in charge of the defense of the region, and his home was probably designated as a site for community meetings and shelter in times of emergency, hence the term "Fort Gaddis," probably a 19th-century appellation. It is a 1 1/2-story, 1-room log structure measuring 26 feet long and 20 feet wide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mingo Creek Presbyterian Church and Churchyard</span> Historic church in Pennsylvania, United States

Mingo Creek Presbyterian Church and Churchyard is a church and historic location in Washington County, Pennsylvania. It is located at the junction of Pennsylvania Route 88 and Mingo Church Road in Union Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, near Courtney, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the Washington Presbytery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roberts House (Canonsburg, Pennsylvania)</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

The Roberts House is a historic building in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is designated as a historic residential landmark/farmstead by the Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation. The Greater Canonsburg Heritage Society erected a historical marker near the house, which is the last remaining structure from Jefferson College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Area Public Library</span> United States historic place

The California Area Public Library is the public library serving California, Pennsylvania and is a branch of the Washington County Library System. The library is located in the former Pennsylvania Railroad Passenger Station, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beallsville Historic District</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

Beallsville Historic District is a 40-acre (16 ha) district in Beallsville, Pennsylvania. It is designated as a historic district by the Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cement City Historic District</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

Cement City Historic District is a historic district in Donora, Pennsylvania. The district includes 80 Prairie School concrete residences built in 1916–17. The homes served as housing for employees of the American Steel and Wire Company. Poured-in-place concrete houses had become popular in large-scale housing developments at the time, partly thanks to promotion by Thomas Edison; the homes built in Donora used a newly patented construction method from the Lambie Concrete House Corporation. Building the houses required a combined 10,000 barrels of Portland cement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hill's Tavern</span> United States historic place

Hill's Tavern is a historic building in Scenery Hill, Pennsylvania. It was heavily damaged by a fire that started shortly before midnight on August 17, 2015. For a period in the early 1900s, the inn was known as Central Hotel. Now called the Century Inn, it has been claimed to have been the oldest tavern in continuous use on the National Road, until the fire brought an end to its 221 years of continuous operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huffman Distillery and Chopping Mill</span> United States historic place

The Huffman Distillery and Chopping Mill is an historic complex of buildings which is located in Somerset Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Corbley Farm</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

The John Corbley Farm, also known as Slave Gallant, is an historic American home that is located in Greene Township in Greene County, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reading Furnace Historic District</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

The Reading Furnace Historic District is a national historic district that is located in Warwick Township and East Nantmeal Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 "David Bradford House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 "Bradford House - PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Bradford House". Landmark Registry - Public Landmark. Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation. 2008. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
  5. Mansfield, Katherine (June 30, 2013). "Descendant secures state marker for Rebecca Harding Davis". Observer-Reporter . Archived from the original on April 12, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  6. Ehrlich, Eugene; Carruth, Gorton (1982). The Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide to the United States . New York: Oxford University Press. p.  214. ISBN   0-19-503186-5.
  7. "Historical marker dedicated to author". Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  8. 1 2 Branton, Harriet (June 8, 1985). "Charles Stotz: Restorer of Western Pennsylvania Architecture". Observer-Reporter . Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  9. William K. Watson (May 1983). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Bradford (David) House" (pdf). National Park Service.