{"nrhp_refnum":"91001128","name":"Robesonia Furnace Historic District","other_names":["Reading Furnace","Robesonia Iron Co. Ltd."],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Furnace, S. Church and Freeman Sts. and Mountain and E. Meadow Aves.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Robesonia","county":"Berks County","state":"PA","lat":40.34156415250004,"lon":-76.14010595414338,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1991-09-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Community Planning and Development","Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of an iron plantation and ironmaking community in the southern section of Robesonia borough, Berks County, Pennsylvania, along Furnace Creek. It centers on the residential component of the Robesonia Furnace, whose first furnace on the site was established in 1794.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district is significant for industry as an early example of iron-making in eastern Pennsylvania, and for community planning as an ironmaking community that endured and evolved over a long period. It is also cited for architecture, with high-style buildings such as the Second Empire Taylor Mansion, the Italianate furnace office and the Georgian ironmaster's mansion, alongside vernacular workers' housing with unusually sophisticated detailing. Archaeological remains of the industrial component, demolished in 1927, are considered to have potential to yield information about the site.","narrative":"Robesonia Furnace Historic District occupies the southern part of Robesonia borough in Berks County, along Furnace Creek. It developed around an iron plantation whose first furnace on the site was established in 1794 by George Ege, who later built a Georgian stone mansion there in 1807. The district's surviving buildings are mainly residential, ranging from high-style houses to vernacular worker's housing built in stone, frame, log and slag block between about 1800 and 1915. The Second Empire Taylor Mansion, the Italianate furnace office and the Georgian ironmaster's mansion stand out among them. Robesonia's ironworks were the centre of production for the Robesonia pig iron, and the company was dismantled in 1927 after Bethlehem Steel acquired the Cornwall ore mines. Its stone foundations, retaining walls and scattered pigs remain on the site, and the district is considered important for both its community history and its archaeological remains.","period_of_significance":"1800-1927","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Georgian; Second Empire; Italianate; vernacular","criteria":["A","C","D"],"status_note":"The industrial component was demolished in 1927 and the furnace complex was dismantled; the homes and other buildings were sold off individually. The Ege mansion is now owned by a rehabilitation center.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:36.507901-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/91001128.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91001128/ef24987f4f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91001128/ef24987f4f-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"Smallbones, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robesonia_POS_of_A_247.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71992326","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robesonia_Furnace_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7352164"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/berks-county/robesonia-furnace-historic-district-91001128/"}