William Hartley, a successful farmer who invested successfully in Pennsylvania's oil fields, commissioned this excellent example of the Second Empire style in 1870, just as the railroad finally reached Bedford. The two-and-one-half-story house is made of brick plastered to a smooth finish, with window trim and corner quoins made of pine painted to resemble stone. The mansard roof has paired pedimented dormers and a short central tower with a trio of windows beneath cascading round arches. Cresting along the roof and small balconies in the central tower indicate an attention to detail. A full-facade, five-bay porch shelters the central entrance.