{"nrhp_refnum":"84003601","name":"Railroad Borough Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Shaub Rd. N., E., and S. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Railroad","county":"York County","state":"PA","lat":39.76069336650005,"lon":-76.69768275859033,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-03-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Railroad Borough Historic District is a rail depot and manufacturing community in southern York County, Pennsylvania, occupying two narrow stream valleys in the Piedmont region. The district contains 60 major buildings, of which 16 are significant, 38 contributing and six intrusions.","why_significant":"The district is significant in the areas of architecture, industry and transportation. Its building stock reflects the town's role as a freight depot and manufacturing center during 1840-1920, including the Helb brewery, distillery and furniture works. The borough developed because the York and Maryland Line Rail Road opened in 1838, and the nomination regards it as a well-preserved example of a rail depot community.","narrative":"Railroad Borough is a community of brick, stone and frame buildings in two narrow valleys of southern York County, Pennsylvania, developed around a freight depot on the York and Maryland Line Rail Road. The line opened from York to Baltimore in August 1838 and was considered an engineering marvel for its steep gradients. Baltimore-backed rail construction brought the depot, and the borough was incorporated in 1871 after the area had earlier supported grist mills, bark mills and a tannery. From 1860 to 1880 larger works were established, including a flavine mill begun in 1869, a phosphate factory set up by G.P. Everhart before 1876, and a brewery founded by Frederick Helb in 1867 that could produce 800 barrels a year. Helb also added a distillery in 1870. The furniture works begun in 1900 later became the Sieling Furniture Co. The buildings show Greek Revival, Italianate and Queen Anne details in a restrained, practical manner, and the district is valued as a surviving record of the rail and manufacturing economy of the period.","period_of_significance":"1840-1920","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival, Italianate and Queen Anne influences applied to Georgian forms","criteria":[],"status_note":"The Sieling plant was the borough's sole surviving industry in 1971, and the 1972 destruction of the rail line by Hurricane Agnes is noted; the rail line is described as being rebuilt.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:34.454892-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/84003601.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84003601/ef201595b1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84003601/ef201595b1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Railroad,_Pennsylvania_(4127320221).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Railroad,_Pennsylvania_(4127320221).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997910","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railroad_Borough_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7284044"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/york-county/railroad-borough-historic-district-84003601/"}