{"nrhp_refnum":"99000515","name":"Rodale Organic Gardening Experimental Farm","other_names":["Working Tree Center"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2056 Minesite Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lower Macungie township","county":"Lehigh County","state":"PA","lat":40.55455809500006,"lon":-75.52220099937931,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-05-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An agricultural complex of five contributing buildings, five sites and seven structures on 39.2 acres in Lower Macungie Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, built around a ca. 1830 farmstead that J.I. Rodale purchased in 1940 and altered as an experimental organic farm.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the farm is significant for its association with J.I. Rodale, an important proponent of organic gardening and farming in the twentieth century. It states that he helped introduce organic theories to the public through his publications, including Organic Gardening and Prevention, and that the farm was the setting where he developed and tested those ideas. The farm is also described as retaining a high degree of integrity.","narrative":"Located in Lower Macungie Township, Lehigh County, this 39.2-acre farm grew from a ca. 1830 fieldstone farmstead that J.I. Rodale bought in 1940. He altered the existing buildings and added new ones, including a farm office and greenhouse built ca. 1945, a bank barn, a stone-mulched garden, and a set of sixteen concrete-rimmed Sir Albert Howard test plots installed ca. 1950. Rodale used the site as his home, workshop and experiment station, where he tested organic methods of cultivation and composting. From here he produced writings that promoted organic gardening, including the magazine Organic Gardening and the 1945 book Pay Dirt. The property is important for its connection to Rodale's role in spreading organic farming ideas across the country. Its buildings and gardens have changed little since his death in 1971, and they continue to reflect how he worked and lived there.","period_of_significance":"1940-1971","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"No style; Federal","criteria":["B"],"status_note":"Retains a high degree of integrity; no new buildings added since J.I. Rodale's death in 1971; Working Tree Center established on the farm in 1972.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:36.951124-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/99000515.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000515/121890a98b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000515/121890a98b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Final4one","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rodale_Farm_Clapboard_%26_Stone_Bakeoven.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Final4one</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:Rodale_Farm_Clapboard_%26_Stone_Bakeoven.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71996323","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodale_Organic_Gardening_Experimental_Farm","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7356443"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/lehigh-county/rodale-organic-gardening-experimental-farm-99000515/"}