The Gass House

The Gass House. Birthplace of Patrick Gass. The circa 1760 Gass House and the attached, and much larger, 1811 almshouse were added to the the National Register of Historic Places inventory on April 11, 1977 as Building #77001168. Criteria for inclusion are 1) the architectural significance of the Gass House as a fine example of the Scotch Irish limestone random course method constructed during the French and Indian War and 2) its link to Patrick Gass, a person of historical significance born here in 1771. Sergeant Gass is best remembered for being third in command of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and for military service in the Indian Wars and the War of 18 12. , Patrick's father, Benjamin, and uncle William immigrated from Ireland and built the farmhouse on their plantation named “Union”. Continuing their occupation as fullers of cloth, they built a fulling mill nearby on the Falling Spring Creek. Franklin County, chartered in 1784, purchased the Gass house and 165 acres in 1808 for $8,203.75. The purchase provided for an almshouse which was constructed in 1811. , The circa 1760 and 1811 buildings are an open air museum of early American architecture contrasting construction methods used for the more primitive Gass house with those of the more sophisticated almshouse built of the same local limestone half a century later. , Architectural Highlights of the Almshouse , The almshouse was constructed to higher standards for public use. The features include shaped limestone blocks with flat bearing surfaces which make the building structurally stable. , Almshouse features: , . Uniform courses of limestone blocks provide increased stability and load-bearing capacity. , . Increased stability allowed for a larger footprint, 30 by 54½ feet, greater height and a larger, heavier roof. , . The footprint of the almshouse is 4½ times larger than the Gass House. , . Flat arches with a center keystone above windows and doors allowed for larger openings. , . Larger interior bays provided for larger rooms than the Gass house. , . Stonework and cornerstones in the center of the east wall suggest construction in two phases. , Architectural Highlights of the Gass House , Built during the French and Indian War, 1755-63, on the frontier between the French and British new world empires, the 2½ story farmhouse is constructed of field limestone from the immediate area. Evident from the primitive stonework, the expedient construction techniques sacrificed structural strength and stability. , Gass House features: , . A large number of stones are not reworked into blocks with flat surfaces. , . Stones of irregular sizes and shapes, except for the well formed cornerstones, were randomly layered. , . Simple lintels of one to three flat stones were placed above windows. , . Structurally unstable walls resulted in a smaller 19 foot square footprint and smaller openings for windows. , . Method of wall construction limited height and ability to support a larger, heavier roof. , . The rooms in the Gass House are small, even for that era. The interior footprint is only 290 square feet. , The Gass farmhouse is a landmark from the early years of European settlement in the Cumberland Valley. The Conococheague settlement was established in 1734, the date taken from the ‘Founding of Chambersburg’. Fort Benjamin Chambers was constructed in 1756, the year following British General Edward Braddock's defeat at Fort Duquesne marking the onset of the French and Indian War. All these events predate the establishment of the United States.