Point Pleasant Historic District
Also known as: See Also:Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal
Why it's listed
Point Pleasant is a linear village of stone and frame buildings strung along River Road, beside the Delaware Canal and the Tohickon Creek, in Plumstead and Tinicum Townships, Bucks County. Its origins lie in a ferry crossing established in 1739 and a mid-18th century fishery and tavern at Black's Eddy. Most of the district's buildings date from 1820 to 1930, and many are built of dark gray argillite quarried from nearby hillsides. The village served as a commercial center for the surrounding agricultural area and for river traffic, and later as a summer resort for Doylestown residents, with bungalows dating from the early 1900s. A survey counted 74 contributing buildings out of 87. Its four hotels, a mill, a canal lock house and four contributing bridges, including an 1877 pony truss, show the district's transportation and resort history. It was listed for its concentration of vernacular architecture and its unusually complete range of building types and periods.
Significance in brief: The district is argued to be locally significant as an 18th and 19th century commercial and transportation center and a late 19th and early 20th century fishing and summer resort. Its concentration of vernacular buildings reflects successive stages of village development, and the nomination says it has had few intrusions affecting the placement, scale and relationship of its buildings.
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 89001652, listed October 5, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | River Rd. and Point Pleasant Pike, Point Pleasant |
|---|---|
| County | Bucks County |
| Listed | October 5, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89001652 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1820-1930 |
| Architectural style | Vernacular buildings in late Georgian, Greek Revival, Italianate and Bungalow styles; Late Gothic Revival and Folk Victorian elements also noted |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Transportation, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The Point Pleasant pumping station and some later houses are excluded or non-contributing; many contributing buildings remain in residential or commercial use. |
| Acreage | 30 |
| Coordinates | 40.42068, -75.06500 (NPS GIS) |
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.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 89001652.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7208131
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.