The John Frew House, also or formerly known as the Rachel and Robert Sterrett House, is an historic house in the Westwood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.City of Pittsburgh Westwood Neighborhood Map , Pittsburgh, Feb. 2003. Accessed 2010-11-09.Borough of Crafton Zoning Map , Crafton, 2004-08-18. Accessed 2009-01-08.John Frew House, window, Pennsylvania Digital Library, University of Pittsburgh. Accessed 2009-01-08."History's Houses." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, January 19, 1936, p. 46 (subscription required)."Drive Begun to Preserve Historic Buildings in Pittsburgh Area." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, January 5, 1936, p. 43 (subscription required).
History Of the five extant pre-1800 structures remaining in the City of Pittsburgh,Scott, Erin Keane. "The Midwest." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Magazine, June 30, 2015. the John Frew House is the only one that is currently being used as an occupied house.Bauder, Bob. "Residents living in history as Pittsburgh preps for bicentennial." Tarentum, Pennsylvania: TribLive, June 23, 2016. Its location on Poplar Street places it on the City of Pittsburgh side of the border between Crafton and Pittsburgh.Google map showing Sterrett St. continues as Poplar St.
The original stone section of the house and the adjacent stone springhouse were built circa 1790.Bauder, " Residents living in history as Pittsburgh preps for bicentennial," TribLive, June 23, 2016."John Frew House, front with porch." Boston, Massachusetts: Digital Public Library of America, retrieved online December 29, 2022. The Greek Revival addition to the house was built circa 1840. A garage was then added to the springhouse circa 1950.Mulkearn, Lois and Edwin V. Pugh. A Traveler's Guide to Historic Western Pennsylvania, pp. xi, 93. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: University of Pittsburgh Press, June 15, 1954.
Preservation of the home began in the 1930s."Drive Begun to Preserve Historic Buildings in Pittsburgh Area," The Pittsburgh Press, January 5, 1936."Early Pennsylvania Houses Make Up Interesting Show." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 10, 1936, p. 26 (subscription required).
It was subsequently listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001."Notices: Historical and Museum Commission: National Register Nominations to Be Considered by the Historic Preservation Board," in Pennsylvania Bulletin, Vol. 31, No. 6, February 10, 2001. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Fry Communications for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Legislative Reference Bureau. The house also has a landmark plaque from the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, and it was added to the List of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks in 1984.
References