The Jacob Winings House and Clover Mill were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Portions of the content on this web page were adapted from a copy of the original nomination document. [1]
Description
The original portion of the 18th century Jacob Winings House is constructed of random fieldstone, 2 1/2 stories high, 3 bays wide and 2 bays deep. It has a gable roof and a stone chimney at the west gable end. Windows on both the first and second floors originally had 9 over 6 light sash windows, but some have been replaced by 9 over 9 or 6 over 6 light windows. Windows at the attic level have 4 over 4 lights. A pent eave originally ran the full length of the front (south) elevation between the first and second floors. The door is in the east bay of the front elevation, is set within deep reveals and is topped by a rectangular transom. This door leads to an entry hall and an open stairway. To the west of the entry hall are two large rooms with back to back corner fireplaces and panelled west fireplace walls.
The addition to the east gable end of the original house is also built of random coursed stone, 2 1/2 stories high, 3 bays wide and 2 bays deep. It has a gable roof and a chimney at the east gable end. Windows on both the first and second floors have 9 over 6 lights. There is a separate entrance to the addition in the west bay of its south elevation.
Alterations to the enlarged house include the removal of the pent eave from the south elevation and its replacement with a late 19th century porch covering only the entrances in the two central bays. The stone walls have been coated with stucco, and a 1-story frame addition with hipped roof has been added to the east gable end. The panelled exterior shutters, once provided for all first floor windows, now remain only on 2 windows of the north facade.
The small stucco over stone clover mill, located south and east across James Mill Road from the Jacob Winings house, is two and one-half stories high with a gable roof. Built into the bank of the hill, the mill has ground level entrances on both the first floor of the south elevation and the second floor of the north elevation. Windows on both the first and second floors have 9 lights.
Significance
The Jacob Winings house is a well-preserved example of a typical Chester County farmhouse of the late 18th century. Jacob Winings, an ironmaster, purchased the property in 1783 from Thomas Rutter and Samuel Potts. According to local tradition, the house's history antedates the 1783 sale of the property to Winings, and it served as a hospital for wounded Continental soldiers.
The house was in existence by 1796, the first year in which houses were individually recorded in the tax lists. "Jacob Winands" was assessed for "one large stone house" valued at 45 pounds. (Known variations on the spelling of Jacob's name included "Winings," "Winands," and "Winance.")
Because of its excellent mill seat upon French Creek, the property also included various mill buildings from time to time, among which a small clover mill survives. In an 1885 newspaper advertisement for the property, there were both a grist or corn mill and a saw mill on the site.
The original house and its additions are in excellent condition. They exemplify a pattern of growth common among 18th century farm houses in the area.
References
Atlas of Chester, Co., Pa., Safe Harbor, Pa: A. R. Witmer, 1873.
Breou's Original Series of Farm Maps: Chester Co. Phila. Wilt Kirk & Co. 1883.
Chester Co. Courthouse. Patent Book: A, p-10, Will Book 11, p265, Papers 5695
Chester Co. Historical Society, Misc. papers, Warwick Township, Chester Co. American Republican, West Chester, Pa. January 25, 1815.
Village Record, West Chester, Pa., March 9, 1825.
Nearby Neighborhoods
Street Names
James Mill Road