Northumberland Historic District
Why it's listed
Northumberland's historic district occupies a regular street grid between the North and West branches of the Susquehanna River, with houses dating from the 1790s to the 1930s. Its housing stock includes Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival examples, mostly brick and frame. The Joseph Priestley House, built in 1797 of lumber dried on site, is a frame Federal house that is a National Historic Landmark. Priestley lived here during his last decade and conducted experiments, including the discovery of carbon monoxide. The town also developed as a canal and river junction after the Pennsylvania Canal reached it in the 1830s, which shaped its commercial and hotel buildings. The district is valued for the range of its residential architecture, which the nomination describes as broader than that of neighbouring Sunbury or Milton. Of 236 buildings, 73 are noncontributing.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · catalog entry. Generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29).
| Period of significance | 1794-1938 |
|---|---|
| Styles | Federal, Queen Anne, Italianate |
| Areas of significance | Science, Architecture |
| Acreage | 27 |
| Boundary source | NPS cultural-resource GIS polygon |
| Full listing page | Northumberland Historic District (property record) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.