{"nrhp_refnum":"97001256","name":"Emlenton Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Allegheny R., the borough limits, Kerr Ave., Hickory, and Center Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Emlenton","county":"Venango County","state":"PA","lat":41.18139951900005,"lon":-79.71299997230574,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-11-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Industry"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Emlenton Historic District is a mixed-use district of about 180 acres on the north side of the Allegheny River within the Borough of Emlenton, Venango County, Pennsylvania. It contains 375 resources, including 317 buildings, 57 structures and one object.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district is significant under Criterion A for its ties to the oil industry, particularly as the birthplace and long-time home of the Quaker State Oil Refining Company. It is significant under Criterion B for its association with Harry Jennings Crawford, a leading oil industrialist and philanthropist, and under Criterion C for its collection of architecture representing many popular styles of the period, including buildings by W. Holmes Crosby.","narrative":"Emlenton is a river town in Venango County, Pennsylvania, whose historic district covers about 180 acres along the north bank of the Allegheny River. The district holds 375 resources built between the 1830s and the 1980s, and 335 of them contribute to its historic character. The earliest surviving building, the Valley House Hotel, dates from 1837, and the period of significance runs to 1945. Oil discovered at Ritchey Run in 1867 transformed the settlement, and the district's houses, commercial blocks and churches reflect that prosperity. The district is significant as the home of the Quaker State Oil Refining Company, formed in 1931 from nineteen smaller refiners. Harry Jennings Crawford, a co-founder of Quaker State, was a banker and philanthropist who funded the Crawford Memorial School, designed by W. Holmes Crosby and completed in 1928. The district also holds a range of architectural styles, from Greek Revival and Italianate to Queen Anne and Bungalow forms.","period_of_significance":"1837-1945","architect_builder":"W. Holmes Crosby (architect)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, Gothic, Neo-Classical, Tudor, Colonial Revival, Craftsman, Bungalow","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Crawford Memorial School is described as presently vacant.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:37.669175-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/97001256.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97001256/5c7fa565ea-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97001256/5c7fa565ea-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sixth_and_Main_in_Emlenton.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sixth_and_Main_in_Emlenton.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993953","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emlenton_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5372662"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/venango-county/emlenton-historic-district-97001256/"}