Bachman and Forry Tobacco Warehouse
Why it's listed
Built between 1893 and 1895 in Columbia, Lancaster County, this three and one-half story brick warehouse measures 54 by 85 feet and is topped by a gable roof. Its builders were Geiske and Neimann. Radiating brick arches top its windows and loading doors, and most windows are six over six sash. Inside, the wooden floors rest on 4 by 16 foot joists supported by solid timbers measuring 16 by 16 inches, with the third floor rising more than thirty-five feet to the ridgepole. A hand-operated elevator measuring 8 by 8 feet moved bales of tobacco between floors. Farmers sold their air-cured leaf to commercial companies, and the bales were stored and sweated in this building to bring them into proper condition for sale. The warehouse is regarded as one of the rare surviving examples of this industry, which supplied cigar wrapper leaf and shaped the county's agricultural economy from after the Civil War into the early twentieth century. In the 1930s it became the property of the David Forry Tobacco Company.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the warehouse is a symbol of the cigar leaf tobacco industry that was important to Lancaster County agriculture from the post-Civil War years into the early twentieth century. It describes the building as the purest and handsomest of the surviving warehouses of its type in the county.
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 79002252, listed March 29, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 125 Bank Alley, Columbia |
|---|---|
| County | Lancaster County |
| Listed | March 29, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79002252 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1893-95 |
| Architect / builder | Geiske, Neimann/Builders |
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition described as good to excellent; plans were being prepared to use the building for publication offices, a museum and a collector's reference library. |
| Acreage | 0.3 |
| Within district | Columbia Historic District |
| Coordinates | 40.02947, -76.50331 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
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 79002252.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4838886
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.