{"nrhp_refnum":"90001635","name":"Wertz Mill","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"60 Werner St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wernersville","county":"Berks County","state":"PA","lat":40.32825754800007,"lon":-76.07932281299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-11-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick Victorian gristmill with a Mansard roof, located beside the railroad tracks in the borough of Wernersville, Berks County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1892 and is now used as a garden center.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the mill is a fine example of a large Victorian flour mill that used roller-milling technology and embodies the popular Second Empire style of the 1890s. Its association with the grain milling industry between 1892 and 1939 is also cited as significant.","narrative":"Wernersville's Wertz Mill is a three-story brick gristmill with a Mansard roof, slate sides and a cupola, standing beside the railroad tracks across from the village railroad station. George W. Wertz built it in 1892 after selling his earlier mill to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for a state mental hospital. He was also president of the Wernersville National Bank. Wertz installed the most modern roller-milling equipment of the day and specialized in whole wheat and buckwheat flour. In 1906 the mill began generating electricity for village residents, which the nomination credits with aiding the town's growth. The last miller, Wilson Morrow, ceased milling in March 1969, and a garden center opened in the building a month later. The mill is significant for its industrial role in grain milling and as a well-preserved example of Victorian mill architecture in Berks County.","period_of_significance":"1892-1939","architect_builder":"George W. Wertz (builder)","architectural_style":"Second Empire","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Operated as a gristmill until 1969; now used as a garden center.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:36.630978-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/90001635.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001635/bf1549cd4f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001635/bf1549cd4f-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wertz_Mill_Wernersville.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:Wertz_Mill_Wernersville.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71992404","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wertz_Mill","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7983620"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/berks-county/wertz-mill-90001635/"}