35 South State Street - Newtown Historic District - Newtown, PA
N 40° 13.692 W 074° 56.205
18T E 505380 N 4453087
This building was erected in in the mid-18th century when Newtown became the county seat. There were two other buildings built with this one. This appears to be the last remaining building. An historic interpretive at the sidewalk marks the site.
Waymark Code: WM8GME
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 03/30/2010
Views: 2
In 1745 this building was either built or enlarged to meet the needs of the community. It is unclear as to the original date of construction, but based on the history from the sign out front, it was probably 1745. There was a jail on this site and the original brownstone from the jail can be found in this home. The home unfortunately has a first floor extension built for commercial reason which extends toward the street. It is ugly, blocks the original home and is an intrusion. The home, nonetheless, is still a contributing structure. The home is quite beautiful with a huge gable a few dormers and other typical 18th century architecture.
The historic interpretive out front reads:
The buildings at 35 South State Street are situated on the tract of land on which the three main public buildings when Newtown became the County Seat. The original jail was found to be too small for the growing criminality of the county, naturally arising from the wild conditions of a backwoods community of the time. In 1745, another large jail was erected on this site. Some of the original brownstone walls that enclosed the cells of the jail were reused to build the wall that can be seen surrounding the buildings currently on this site.
About thirty years after the County Seat was removed from Newtown to Doylestown in 1813, the home at 35 South State Street and part of the old courthouse property were purchased at auction by Maurice P. Linton and later by Daniel C. Heilig. This land included the "Old Office Building" that was presumably the only remaining evidence of the original County buildings. Between 1873 and 1884, Daniel B. Heilig renovated this property and also constructed a number of stores that are located between 27 and 33 South State Street.
This site was sponsored by Newtown Business & Professional Association.
A representative from the Department of the Interior was kind enough to e-mail me the nomination form and narratives, including the one for this structure, which can be found below.
