{"nrhp_refnum":"80003557","name":"Troxell-Steckel House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"4229 Reliance St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Egypt","county":"Lehigh County","state":"PA","lat":40.675757936000025,"lon":-75.53515595799996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-06-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2½-story fieldstone house with deep gables in Egypt, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, built in 1756 by John Peter Troxell. It is now a museum operated by the Lehigh County Historical Society.","why_significant":"The nomination describes the house as an unusual example of Pennsylvania German colonial architecture, with half-timber interior partitions and thick, deep-set windows. It is also described as one of the first and largest homesteads in the upper Northampton County frontier, and as a site used for worship by the Egypt Reformed Church before the Union Church was built in 1764.","narrative":"Built in 1756 by John Peter Troxell near Egypt in Lehigh County, this 2½-story fieldstone house has deep gables, arched doorways with stuccoed headers, and two large kitchen fireplaces at either end. Its interior partitions are half-timbered and filled with masonry, and the upper chambers have pine-panelled walls. The house is described as an unusual example of Pennsylvania German colonial building, comparable in construction to only a few other surviving houses in the region. Its thick walls and small, deep windows reflect an era when a dwelling also had to serve as a defensive refuge. During the 1756 Indian attacks, the militia reportedly obtained horses and a wagon from Troxell before marching to Gnadenhutten. Egypt Reformed Church services were held in the house before 1764. Peter Steckel, who bought the property in 1768, is recorded as an innovative farmer who used an Archimedes' screw to irrigate his land. The house was restored in 1943 and now serves as a museum.","period_of_significance":"1700-1799","architect_builder":"Peter Troxell (builder)","architectural_style":"Colonial Pennsylvania German","criteria":[],"status_note":"Restored in 1943 and presently a museum exhibiting furnishings and crafts of early settlers.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.638887-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/80003557.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003557/3aa425ed05-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003557/3aa425ed05-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Alphageekpa (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PA-LEHIGH-TroxellSteckelHouseFrontSide.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Alphageekpa (talk)</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PA-LEHIGH-TroxellSteckelHouseFrontSide.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995419","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troxell-Steckel_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7846704"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/lehigh-county/troxell-steckel-house-80003557/"}