{"nrhp_refnum":"77001181","name":"Jacobsburg Historic District","other_names":["Boulton Gun Manufactory","Jacobsburg State Park"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"3 mi. NE of Nazareth off PA 115","address_restricted":false,"city":"Nazareth","county":"Northampton County","state":"PA","lat":40.78263842100006,"lon":-75.29243745315263,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-10-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Military","Engineering","Transportation","Architecture","Invention"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of about 500 acres in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, made up of the Jacobsburg, Benade and Boulton tracts along Bushkill Creek, containing 46 sites of which 12 remain standing. It was the site of 18th and early 19th century industries including gun manufacture, iron making and a tannery.","why_significant":"The district is significant as an archaeological site documenting early industry, with promising remains on the Jacobsburg and Benade tracts. The Henry family's gun-making and iron-making activities are a central part of its importance. The Boulton House is also argued to be a good example of Federal architecture as adapted locally.","narrative":"Jacobsburg is a district of about 500 acres along Bushkill Creek in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, settled in 1740. Between the late 18th and early 19th centuries it held a gristmill, sawmill, tannery, iron furnace, forge, hotel and gun factory. The gun works were run by the Henry family, whose William Henry II built a factory around 1792 and erected the first wrought iron furnace in the Bethlehem area to supply it. Henry rifles were used in the War of 1812 and sold to fur trading companies. The Boulton House, built by John Joseph Henry in 1832, is a brick Federal-style house whose design shows strong Philadelphia influence. Most of the industrial sites are now ruins, and their foundations and mill races remain as archaeological evidence of early industrial life. The district was listed for its archaeological value in documenting that industry and for the architecture of the Boulton House.","period_of_significance":"1740 - early 1900's","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Jacobsburg Tract almost entirely in ruins; two Benade stone houses remain standing, with restoration planned by the Jacobsburg Historical Society; Henry Homestead planned for use as a house for the park superintendent.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.250044-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/77001181.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001181/498859c28c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001181/498859c28c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Jerrye &amp; Roy Klotz, MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JACOBSBURG_HISTORIC_DISTRICT,_NORTHAMPTON_COUNTY,_PA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jerrye &amp;amp; Roy Klotz, MD</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JACOBSBURG_HISTORIC_DISTRICT,_NORTHAMPTON_COUNTY,_PA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994849","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobsburg_Environmental_Education_Center","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6119785"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/northampton-county/jacobsburg-historic-district-77001181/"}