Chickies Historic District
Why it's listed
Along the Susquehanna River on the southeast side of Marietta, Lancaster County, the Chickies Historic District preserves the remains of seven nineteenth-century anthracite hot-blast iron furnaces, built of stone and brick and now archaeological sites, many within Chickies Rock County Park. Built between 1845 and the 1870s by local entrepreneurs, including members of the Haldeman, Musselman, Myers and Cottrell families, the furnaces formed part of an industry that made Pennsylvania a leading iron producer. The district also includes five brick and stone ironmasters' houses on the slope called Ironmasters' Hill, dating from about 1848 to 1876, along with an 1837 stone gristmill, a tollhouse, and a rock shelter where Native American artifacts were excavated in 1870. Farmsteads with Pennsylvania bank barns and iron ore pits and lime quarries in the Donegal Creek valley complete the district. Its significance rests on its industrial remains and the information they can still yield.
Significance in brief: The district is argued to be part of one of the most important concentrations of anthracite iron furnaces in the eastern United States. Its furnace ruins are considered likely to yield information on the anthracite iron industry, and the ironmasters' mansions are presented as good examples of local well-to-do residences of the period.
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 05001488, listed December 28, 2005. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by the Susquehanna R, Chickies Creek, Bank St. and Long Lane., Marietta Borough |
|---|---|
| County | Lancaster County |
| Listed | December 28, 2005 |
| Reference number | 05001488 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | c. 1768 - 1930 |
| Architectural style | Victorian |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture, Historic - Non-Aboriginal |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The furnace sites are now archaeological sites and the area of the furnaces has been converted to passive parkland. |
| Acreage | 589 |
| Coordinates | 40.04814, -76.52260 (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 05001488.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5096359
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.