Historic Name

Battles Farm House

Address

436 Walnut Street

Municipality

Girard Borough

Tax Parcel

23015050003600

Historic District

Classification

Class 2 (Definitions of Classes)

State Key Number

807163

Historic Function

Domestic - single dwelling

Style

Italianate

Built

1867

Architect

Builder

Barn Type on property

Last Entry Update

8/8/2016

Rush Battles was a prominent and wealthy lawyer, businessman, and civic leader in Girard, Pennsylvania. After receiving his law degree from the National Law School, he partnered with fellow businessman, Henry Webster, to open the Battles & Webster House of Banking. In 1857, Battles commissioned the construction this Italianate farm house for himself, his mother, and two unmarried sisters. Battle’s father, Asa Battles, had died in 1848, leaving his entire estate to Rush. Built by Erastus Slater, this home is affectionately referred to as the “Yellow House.” A four-story barn was built in 1871 on the property. It featured a stone foundation and elegant cupola, but it was destroyed by fire in 1977. In addition to cultivating grapevines, a fruit orchard, and nut trees, the Battles Farm produced potatoes, corn, wheat, and barley. In 1861, Battles married his business partner’s sister, Charlotte McConnell Webster, and subsequently constructed another Italianate home, called the “White House,” just north of the farmhouse. Rush and Charlotte Battles had three children, but only his daughter, Charlotte Elizabeth, survived into adulthood. The family of three lived in the White House, and their daughter, Charlotte, lived in the home until her death in 1952. When Rush Battles died in 1904, daughter Charlotte inherited his farm, both of the Italianate mansions, his business and banking interests, as well as the rest of the 130-acre property surrounding the homes.

The Yellow House and White House formed what is called the Battles Estate. The estate was donated to the Historical Society of Erie County in the 1980s and both homes were turned into museums. The Yellow House features the Battles Museum of Rural Life, while the White House contains the Charlotte Elizabeth Battles Memorial Museum. In 2016, both museums remain open to the public.

Sources: Erie Yesterday. Images of America: Erie County, Pennsylvania. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 1997.; Eiler, Linda Lee Hessong. Images of America: Girard. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2005.

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Submitted information is reviewed by Preservation Erie prior to updating the database.

Photo courtesy, Erie County Assessment Office