Douglass, George, House
Why it's listed
Built in 1763 for George Douglass I, a rural merchant, this stone dwelling on the southern edge of Douglassville in Amity Township faces Old Philadelphia Pike. Its original block is a five-bay, center-passage, double-pile house of coursed ashlar and rubble masonry under a wood-shingled gable roof. Around 1800 George Douglass II added a two-story store wing with a front loft door, and by about 1833 a one-story wing containing a smokehouse, a vaulted root cellar and an outkitchen was built. The house is regarded as a full-scale Georgian dwelling with much of its original detail intact, and the attached store wing is a comparatively early surviving example of a country store building in southeastern Pennsylvania. The Douglass family ran the store and were active in local office, including justices of the peace and a militia company captain in the Revolutionary War. The property is listed for its architecture.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues that the house is a full-scale example of Georgian domestic architecture with much of its original detail intact. It also presents the attached two-story store wing as a comparatively early surviving store building in southeastern Pennsylvania, and it ties the property to the Douglass family's local business and civic roles.
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) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 09000462, listed June 25, 2009. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 19 Old Philadelphia Pike, Amity Township |
|---|---|
| County | Berks County |
| Listed | June 25, 2009 |
| Reference number | 09000462 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1763 - ca. 1833 |
| Architectural style | Georgian |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County has owned the house since 1988 and stabilized it in 1995-2002, with restoration planned for a historic house museum and visitor center. |
| Acreage | 1.1 |
| Coordinates | 40.25642, -75.72574 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 09000462.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5538610
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.