{"nrhp_refnum":"82003764","name":"Womelsdorf Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Water, 4th, Franklin and Jefferson Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Womelsdorf","county":"Berks County","state":"PA","lat":40.36331223050004,"lon":-76.18641189435385,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-03-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district in the borough of Womelsdorf, Berks County, Pennsylvania, centred on High and Franklin Streets around an open Market Square. It contains a concentration of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century commercial buildings, row houses, mansions, schoolhouses and log and stone dwellings.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that Womelsdorf grew along the Tulpehocken Path and Sunbury Road as a stopping point and marketplace, and that its building stock reflects each phase of that growth. It also cites the town's cigar manufacturing, which was a major local industry from about 1875 to 1930, and its early schools and log houses tied to German settlement.","narrative":"Womelsdorf is a small borough in a valley of western Berks County, with its core along High and Franklin Streets and an open Market Square at the centre. The town was laid out in 1762 by John Womelsdorff, who plotted 75 lots and required each owner to build a dwelling within three years. Its buildings range from log and stone houses to Victorian mansions, and many taverns, row houses and sidehall plan houses survive. Stouch's Tavern dates to about 1785, and the Seltzer House, built in 1800, was a tavern until 1937. Cigar manufacturing was the borough's largest industry, peaking between 1875 and 1930, and the A. S. Valentine & Son firm operated from 1848 to 1930. The district is listed for its architecture, which shows the town's development across more than a century, and for its role in early settlement and industry.","period_of_significance":"1700-1930","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Georgian, Italianate, Queen Anne, Victorian Gothic, Romanesque Revival, Eastlake and vernacular Georgian and Victorian styles","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Well-maintained and largely intact, with some buildings altered by additions or facade renovations; several new light industries operate in older buildings.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:32.631183-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/82003764.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003764/8330d898a0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003764/8330d898a0-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Womelsdorf_2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Womelsdorf_2.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998782","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Womelsdorf_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8030802"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/berks-county/womelsdorf-historic-district-82003764/"}