Hamorton Historic District (Boundary Increase)
No coordinates published for this listing.
Why it's listed
Hamorton is a village of brick, frame and stone houses at the crossing of Baltimore Pike and the Wilmington Road in Kennett Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Its older section was laid out in the 1830s on narrow rectangular lots subdivided from the Ezekiel Webb estate, with Abraham Hamor building most of the early dwellings. The village grew into a commercial center, with a general store run by the Pyle family and a post office established in 1831, and it rivaled Kennett Square until the railroad bypassed it. In 1928-1930 P.S. DuPont of Longwood Gardens added a planned section to the north, with eighteen detached Colonial and Georgian Revival houses designed by E. William Martin. The village is also tied to abolitionism, with Dr. Bartholomew Fussell's hall and Sarah Harvey Pearson's free store opposing slavery in the 1840s and 1850s. The historic district holds 52 contributing principal buildings, and the village keeps much of its original layout.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the village preserves the layout and buildings of a 19th-century commercial crossroads that rivaled Kennett Square, and that it was a center of abolitionist activity in Chester County. It also argues the 1928-1930 DuPont houses are of exceptional integrity and reflect Georgian and Colonial Revival design by the Wilmington architect E. William Martin.
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 100012044, listed July 21, 2025. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Jct. of US 1 and SR 52, Kennett Square |
|---|---|
| County | Chester County |
| Listed | July 21, 2025 |
| Reference number | 100012044 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1780-1930 |
| Architect / builder | E. (Edward) William Martin (architect) for the 1928-1930 DuPont houses; P.S. DuPont (owner and developer of new Hamorton) |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival; Colonial Revival; Georgian Revival |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Contributing buildings include 52 principal buildings, a water tower and 23 accessory buildings; two principal buildings and eight garages are non-contributing; two lots are noted as vacant. |
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 100012044.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.