{"nrhp_refnum":"85002371","name":"House at Upper Laurel Iron Works","other_names":["Site #49-10"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"McCorkel's Rock Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newlin Twp.","county":"Chester County","state":"PA","lat":39.93336009800004,"lon":-75.77934438199998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-09-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A stone, stuccoed house banked into a hill above Buck Run, a tributary of the West Branch Brandywine River, in Newlin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, facing McCorkel's Rock Road. It is the surviving building of the Laurel Iron Works, an industrial complex that once held a score or more buildings.","why_significant":"The house is significant for its association with the iron industry that flourished at this location on Buck Run for more than a century. It is the only building from that industrial complex to survive with its primary components intact. Its historical associations with the Laurel forge and rolling mill are the basis for its listing.","narrative":"Built into the hillside above Buck Run in Newlin Township, Chester County, the House at Upper Laurel Iron Works is a plain stone building with stucco and a gable roof. Its upper floor, reached by a centered entrance on the southeast side, is one large room with a fireplace, and the ground floor opens onto the river side. The house is the only surviving building of the Laurel Iron Works, a forge recorded on Buck Run from 1793 that operated until about 1890. The site passed through the Pyle, Steele and duPont families, and at its peak the two iron works employed about 75 men. The building is listed for its association with this iron industry, which was the major enterprise on the site for more than a century. Nearby stone foundations and iron slag mark the vanished works. The house was vacant at the time of the survey and was in fair condition.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Vacant at the time of the survey; the house was reported to be in fair condition and its new owner had made plans for rehabilitation.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.563991-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/85002371.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002371/bfecd25842-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002371/bfecd25842-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Timothy Colgan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:House_at_Upper_Laurel_Iron_Works.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Timothy Colgan</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:House_at_Upper_Laurel_Iron_Works.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71992712","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_at_Upper_Laurel_Iron_Works","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5914554"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/chester-county/house-at-upper-laurel-iron-works-85002371/"}