{"nrhp_refnum":"85001173","name":"Knauer, John, House and Mill","other_names":["Knauer Mill"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"PA 23","address_restricted":false,"city":"Knauertown","county":"Chester County","state":"PA","lat":40.17071127300005,"lon":-75.73106363799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-05-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A group of four 18th-century stone and frame buildings on the west side of French Creek, north of Route 23 in Knauertown, Chester County, Pennsylvania: a miller's house, a grist mill, a barn and a small stone house. They were built circa 1785-90 by John Knauer.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the group reflects the enterprise and long-lasting influence of the Knauer family in Upper Chester County. The grist mill was the center of Knauer commercial operations and one of very few flour mills in the area still operating as late as 1940. The miller's house is presented as a fine local example of late 18th-century construction.","narrative":"Four stone and frame buildings on the west side of French Creek near Knauertown were built circa 1785-90 by John Knauer to replace the log structures of his father's mill. The group includes a five-bay stone miller's house with a terne tin gable roof and broad chimneys, a stone and frame barn, a stone grist mill with an 1834 addition by Jonathan Knauer, and a small two-story stone house. The mill's overshot iron water wheel, sixteen feet in diameter, remains in place. The miller's house shows symmetrical Georgian planning and fenestration, and is regarded as a fine local example of late 18th-century construction. Its importance lies mainly in commerce. The mill was the center of Knauer family enterprises and one of very few flour mills in upper Chester County operating as late as 1940. Family quarries at St. Peters and lumber and charcoal businesses extended their influence through the 19th and 20th centuries. Remnants of the mill dam, races and holding pond survive.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"John Knauer","architectural_style":"Georgian","criteria":[],"status_note":"The mill operated until 1940 and remained in the Knauer family until 1977; the present owners are rehabilitating the mill and small house for commercial purposes.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.310042-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/85001173.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001173/55416f926c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001173/55416f926c-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Knaur_Mill_Chesco.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:Knaur_Mill_Chesco.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71996038","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Knauer_House_and_Mill","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6243300"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/chester-county/knauer-john-house-and-mill-85001173/"}