Hill, Robert, House
a.k.a. Alley House
DE 6, Kenton, DEThe significance of the Robert Hill House, "Alley," lies in its documentation of the evolution of house types from the period of original settlement into the nineteenth century. The influence of the growing of grain crops helped to maintain the vitality of the built environment by providing the means to build in the most fashionable method. Brick was the preferred building material during the eighteenth century and served to provide a common fabric to bond the various housing choices together. The arrangement and function of the interior space changed over the century. By adding rear wings as service areas, and incorporating those into the main house, the arrangement and use of the main living space became more formal. This increasing formality is indicated by the spacious stair hall and open staircase, and by the attention paid to the detail of woodwork and decoration. As the main room became display areas for wealth rather than work areas, corner cupboards and full entablature on the chimney breasts became the norm, rather than the exception. Because of the expression of the changing fashions in architecture, "Alley" House is being nominated under Criterion C as a well-developed and preserved, Federal-style farmstead.
Local significance of the building:Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.