Leesport Lock House
Why it's listed
Beside the former Schuylkill Canal at Leesport stands an L-shaped lock house of locally quarried sandstone and granite, two and a half stories high, with a full basement. The stone section is judged to date from about 1840, and frame additions were built beside it around 1870 to 1880 and about 1900. The stone portion was roofed in standing-seam tin between 1890 and 1910 over an earlier hand-split shingle roof. The Schuylkill Canal opened in 1822 and ran about 12 miles, and the building served as the economic and transportation center of the community. Lock tenders, ferrymen, and canal boatmen were housed and fed there, and the house stood at the heart of a coal and grain trade in which farmers exchanged produce for coal. The canal bed has since been filled in and most of the locks destroyed, so the building is regarded as the principal surviving reminder of the canal era in Leesport.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues that the lock house is the surviving remnant of the canal system that was essential to commerce and transportation in Leesport. It served as the economic and transportation center of the community, with its use tied to canal boatmen, coal and grain trade, and the lock tenders. The nomination states that much of the canal and railroad has been destroyed, making the building the principal remaining link to that period.
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 77001123, listed June 9, 1977. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Wall St., Leesport |
|---|---|
| County | Berks County |
| Listed | June 9, 1977 |
| Reference number | 77001123 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c. 1840 |
| Areas of significance | Economics, Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 0.2 |
| Coordinates | 40.44664, -75.96742 (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 77001123.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q15242194
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.