The Guy C. Irvine House, also known as "The Locusts," The Walker House, and The Kopf House, is an historic home which is located outside of Pine Grove Township,

Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War: * Warren County, Georgia * Warren County, Illinois * Warren County ...

Russell, Pennsylvania Russell is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Pine Grove Township, Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community is east of Lander and lies at the intersection of U.S. Route 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. H ...

History and architectural features

The house design is

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

in the front (East face), and post-colonial/Pennsylvania Georgian in the back. This historic structure was built between 1831 and 1835, and is a two-story, brick dwelling, with two-story flanking wings. Five bays wide and two bays deep, with a gable roof, it features a pedimented porch supported by two columns. ''Note:'' This includes The foundation construction is a twenty-one-inch hand cut stone that was obtained from a local quarry. The external and internal house walls are double brick. A unique feature is the "bridged" end chimneys. There were originally fourteen fireplaces; eleven remain. There have been several fires, presumably isolated to the southern flanking wing. These were probably kitchen fires, possibly occurring around 1875 (3), 1890 and 1910. The grounds of the Irvine House still have many of the original Black Locust trees (''

Robinia pseudoacacia ''Robinia pseudoacacia'', commonly known in its native territory as black locust, is a medium-sized hardwood deciduous tree, belonging to the tribe Robinieae of the legume family Fabaceae. It is endemic to a few small areas of the United States, ...

''), which were either planted by Irvine, or were possibly existing as a locust grove prior to construction of the home. The wooden fence enclosing the front yard was rebuilt to original design in the early 1940s. The house and grounds are well documented in Charles Stotz book "The Early Architecture of Western Pennsylvania". Stotz noted that "The Locust" is one of only a few historic homes (pre-1860) in Western Pennsylvania that still retain some of its original landscaping. The house was designed by William Bell and built by William and John Thompson for business partners and friends, Guy Carrolton Irvine and Rufus Weatherby."A History of Pine Grove Township, Warren County, PA". 1994. pp 212, 304.
/ref> Guy and Rufus married sisters and traveled together extensively, so they initially designed the house to accommodate two families. However, during the construction, Rufus Weatherby died (1833) and the house was finished for a single family. The Irvine House was part of the Irvine family until 1940, when it was purchased by the Walkers. The Walkers meticulously restored the house and grounds, retaining the original trees, rebuilding the fence and adding utilities for the first time. When the Walkers purchased the property there were several outbuildings; however all but the original

outhouse An outhouse is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket toilet, but other forms of dry toilet, dry (non-flushing) toilets may be encountered. The term may als ...

was in poor condition and demolished. The original, two-stall brick outhouse was restored, and two brick outbuildings were added. The Locusts was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on 13 September 1978. It is the only house in Pine Grove township listed on the National Register.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Irvine, Guy C., House Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Historic American Buildings Survey in Pennsylvania Greek Revival houses in Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1835 Houses in Warren County, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Warren County, Pennsylvania