National Register of Historic Places
Barclay House
West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania
The record
- Listed
- April 18, 2002
- Type
- Building
- Address
- 535 and 539 N. Church St., West Chester
- County
- Chester
- State
- Pennsylvania
- Period of significance
- 1850 to 1974
- Contributing resources
- 2 buildings
- Coordinates
- 39.96718, -75.60900
- Reference number
- 02000380
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesBarry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesBarry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
The story
Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com
Barclay House is a residence of two contributing buildings at 535 and 539 N. Church St. in West Chester, Chester County. The original house was built in 1866-1867 in the Italianate style by Henry P. Sharpless; Colonial Revival additions followed in 1935-1936.
Why it's listed
It was listed under criteria A and C, with local-level significance in social history and architecture. Its significance runs from 1866 to 1950, reflecting the 1866-1867 construction and later years as a boarding home.
Physical character
The house has brick walls on a rusticated stone foundation, with a flat roof and wide cornice. A verandah with six frame pillars and Chippendale-style railing wraps the house, alongside an Italianate portico and porte-cochere. The carriage house became a residence in 1925, and the east block was raised to three stories in 1935-1936; the building was later relocated and renovated.
Historical context
Joshua Hartshorne bought the land in 1866 for his retirement home and died in 1884; the house remained a private residence until 1931. It passed to the Barclay Home Corporation in 1935 and by 1949 had 22 rooms for guests. It merged with Friends Hall in 1978; the property was sold to JMA Properties in 1998, and renovated into office space that year.