Goshenville Historic District
Also known as: Goshenville
Why it's listed
Goshenville is a linear village of stone and stucco buildings along North Chester Road in East Goshen Township, Chester County, grown up around a Quaker meeting founded in 1702. Settlers from the Welsh Tract began farming here in 1683, and the meeting's first log house was built on land given in 1708. The 1855 Hicksite meetinghouse, a stucco building with two entrances and a divided interior, stands beside the Greek Revival Orthodox meetinghouse of 1849, built of serpentine stone. Two Quaker cemeteries lie between them, including a burial ground with markers from the early 1800s. The village also includes a blacksmith and wheelwright shop of about 1740, which operated until 1940, and a general store and post office begun in 1806. The district is regarded as an intact record of Quaker settlement, worship, schism and reconciliation, and of the rural village that formed around it.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the village grew up around the Goshen Preparative Meeting, founded in the early 1700s, and reflects the patterns of Quaker settlement, religion and community development in Chester County. Its meetinghouses, cemeteries, and eighteenth and nineteenth century architecture are presented as the physical record of that history. The district is also described as an intact example of a rural village with Quaker character.
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 00001347, listed November 8, 2000. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Mainly along N. Chester Rd., jct. with Paoli Pike, East Goshen |
|---|---|
| County | Chester County |
| Listed | November 8, 2000 |
| Reference number | 00001347 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | c. 1740-c. 1880 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The blacksmith shop was restored in the 1980s and functions as a township meeting and educational center; the Orthodox meetinghouse is used by the Goshen Friends School and the Goshen Grange. |
| Acreage | 26 |
| Coordinates | 39.99433, -75.54297 (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 00001347.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5587301
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.