The John Ayres House is a historic home located in Middle Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. It 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 ...

in 1979.

History

The land where the

John Ayres John Ayres ('' fl.'' 1680–1700), an English author, scribe and publisher. Life Ayres was of very humble origin, and the date and place of his birth are unknown. Coming up from the country a poor lad, he became footman to Mr. William Ashhurst ...

House is situated was acquired by John Ayres' parents, who had relocated from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

to Dauphin County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, where they settled at the base of Peter's Mountain in October 1773. At that time, the Ayres' new property was bordered by Peter's Mountain (north) and lands owned by William Clark (east), Samuel Cochrane (south), and Jane Givens (west). William Ayres' property was subsequently bought by his son, John, who built a home there between 1800 and 1810. ''Note:'' This includes

Architectural features

The original section of the John Ayres House was built between 1800 and 1810, and expanded between 1815 and 1825. It is a large, -story, 5-bay,

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

dwelling in the

Federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

style. Also situated on the property are a contributing

gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. Etymology The etymology given by Oxford Dictionaries (website), Oxford D ...

carriage house A carriage house, also called a remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack. In Great Britain the farm building was called a cart shed. These typically were open f ...

(c. 1895), stable, early stone pig or sheep barn (c. 1895), spring house, and tennis courts (1939). On December 8, 1819, John Ayres was forced to sell a portion of his property at a Sheriff's sale. The terms of this sale stipulated that Ayers and his family would continue to be able to live in and use their home, which was described at that time as a stone dwelling. John Ayres later went on to become a successful attorney; when he died on August 17, 1825, he was reportedly the last of the Revolutionary War Patriots living in the area. This property and its related buildings were added to the

in 1979.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayres, John, House Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Federal architecture in Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1805 Houses in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania 1805 establishments in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania