Lionville Historic District
Also known as: See Also:Uwchlan Meeting House
Why it's listed
Lionville is a village in Uwchlan Township, Chester County, grouped around a crossroads and the Red Lion Tavern, licensed from 1740. The houses range from early stone and log dwellings to wooden homes of the late 1700s and early 1800s, with many stone buildings later stuccoed. The Uwchlan Meeting House, built of stone in 1756 to replace an earlier log building, is the village's oldest public building. The tavern was a stopping point for travellers and drovers, and Revolutionary War activity took place on its green. Quaker families used hiding places in several village buildings on the Underground Railroad before the Civil War. The village's commerce, cottage industries and schools shaped its nineteenth-century growth, and the district is valued for preserving this mixed architecture and its layout around the green and meeting house.
Significance in brief: The district is significant for its architecture, a mixture of early stone dwellings and wooden houses, and for its role in the community's development from Welsh and Quaker settlement through its tavern, meeting house, trades, schools and transport links. The nomination also cites its part in Revolutionary War activity and in Underground Railroad activity before the Civil War.
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 80003459, listed December 1, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly along PA 100 and S. Village Ave., Lionville |
|---|---|
| County | Chester County |
| Listed | December 1, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80003459 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1700-1899 |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 71 |
| Coordinates | 40.05540, -75.65884 (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 80003459.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6555933
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.