The Carney-Keightley House is significant in the area of Architecture under Criterion C. It embodies the distinctive characteristics of the early modern period of residential architecture in the United States, and particularly the design features and methods of construction advocated by Frank Lloyd Wright in his Usonian houses, intended for homeowners of modest means. The principles and characteristics of the form are displayed in the setting, materials, design (interior and exterior), and in the location and natural state of the property. Houses of the Usonian type are intended to exist in intimate harmony with the site, to belong to the earth, and the success of this particular design evokes a poetic interpretation of this architectural philosophy. The house is unpretentious, modest, natural, economical, unassuming, authentic, and totally American. It is unaltered and lovingly maintained. It is the only known design in this region, and possibly in the nation, that can be credited solely to architect Richard Edgar Carney, who subsequently played an important role in Frank Lloyd Wright's school, the Taliesin Fellowship. Carney worked closely with his clients William and Dorothy Keightley both in the design and physical construction of the house, whose location on a precipice prevented the use of most power equipment. - NRHP Registration Form, 26 May 2010