{"nrhp_refnum":"85000672","name":"Tulpehocken Creek Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Tulpehocken and Mill Creeks from Berks-Lebanon line to Blue March Dam between Millardsville and Bernville","address_restricted":false,"city":"Womelsdorf","county":"Berks County","state":"PA","lat":40.39658163400006,"lon":-76.20346333561778,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-03-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Commerce","Agriculture","Exploration/Settlement","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district along the upper Tulpehocken Creek in Berks County, Pennsylvania, covering the creek valley from the Berks County line to the Schuylkill River area near Womelsdorf, with farms, mills, an iron forge, canal remnants, and churches. The district includes 66 properties.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district was the original settlement area of Western Berks County, settled by German families from Schoharie, New York from 1723. It holds a concentration of 18th and 19th century farmhouses, water-powered industry, the Charming Forge iron complex, Union Canal remnants, and early churches, which together illustrate Pennsylvania German building and farming traditions.","narrative":"Along the upper Tulpehocken Creek in Berks County, Pennsylvania, the district preserves a settlement landscape begun in 1723 by German families who had moved from Schoharie, New York. Its log and stone farmhouses date from about 1730 to 1797, and its bank barns and churches reflect the Pennsylvania German building tradition. Gristmills, sawmills and carding mills were built along the stream from the 1750s, and the Charming Forge iron community, established in 1749, includes a Georgian mansion completed in 1784 by George Ege. The Union Canal, built 1821 to 1827, passed through the district and was abandoned in 1884, leaving locks, lock houses and bridges. The district is significant for its agricultural, industrial and transportation history, and for its early churches, which played a role in the region's religious development.","period_of_significance":"1723-1930","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Pennsylvania German; Colonial German; Georgian (Charming Forge Mansion)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Canal locks and mill sites are described as partly dismantled or marked only by foundations; the Charming Forge village is described as kept intact by its owners.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.762817-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/85000672.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000672/810f4a99f6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000672/810f4a99f6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Shuvaev","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Womelsdorf_Mill_complex,_Tulpehocken_Creek_HD_02.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Shuvaev</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:Womelsdorf_Mill_complex,_Tulpehocken_Creek_HD_02.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998784","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulpehocken_Creek_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7852311"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/berks-county/tulpehocken-creek-historic-district-85000672/"}