{"nrhp_refnum":"04000806","name":"Herpel Brothers Foundry and Machine Shop","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"45 W. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reynoldsville","county":"Jefferson County","state":"PA","lat":41.09723387400004,"lon":-78.89337030599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-08-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-story c. 1905 industrial building in Reynoldsville, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, built as a machine shop and foundry with an attached office block. It is of red brick construction on an ashlar sandstone foundation, with a stepped parapet gable facade facing West Main Street.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is locally significant under Criterion A for industry as a representative of Reynoldsville's early twentieth-century industrial heritage, serving the mining, lumber and tannery sectors. It is also argued to be significant under Criterion C as a locally distinctive example of industrial vernacular architecture. The period of significance runs from c. 1905 to 1943, when the owners retired and the original business ceased.","narrative":"Built around 1905 in Reynoldsville, this single-story brick building housed a machine shop and foundry run by brothers Charles A. and Henry Herpel, who had gained construction and railroad experience before settling in northwestern Pennsylvania. The main block measures 41 by 81 feet and was built alongside a smaller office block at its northwest corner, with decorative yellow brickwork on the facade and a semi-circular window in the gable. The Herpels supplied machinery and repair work to local mines, mills, tanneries and lumber operations for nearly four decades. The building is considered significant for its link to the industrial growth that followed the arrival of the railroad, and as a local example of industrial vernacular design, with its large openings and red brick construction. The brothers retired in 1943, and the building later served commercial and community uses.","period_of_significance":"c. 1905-1943","architect_builder":"Charles A. and Henry Herpel (builders/operators)","architectural_style":"NO STYLE","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Converted to glass wholesale use in the early 1940s; later used as an auction house and currently used by the Jefferson County Area Agency on Aging as a senior citizens social service center.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:10:27.103497-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/04000806.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000806/dec0d49232-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000806/dec0d49232-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Herpel_Brothers_Foundry_in_Reynoldsville.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Herpel_Brothers_Foundry_in_Reynoldsville.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997980","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpel_Brothers_Foundry_and_Machine_Shop","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5743620"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/jefferson-county/herpel-brothers-foundry-and-machine-shop-04000806/"}