McGovern, Edward, Tobacco Warehouse
Why it's listed
Built about 1880 at the corner of North Plum and East Walnut Streets in Lancaster, this six-bay by three-bay brick warehouse rises two and a half stories above a high basement, with a slate side-gabled roof and four gabled dormers on its south facade. It was built to store and process cigar leaf tobacco, an important industry in the city during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Sanborn maps record it as the warehouse of Edward McGovern in 1886, and later as a leaf tobacco warehouse run by Arenot & Fricant and then Charles S. Brenneman. A one-story heater room with a smokestack was added about 1910, and a brick addition containing tobacco dryers was built on the west side about 1939. The building is regarded as a good example of its type and as typical of the industrial buildings of its period in Lancaster City. Its original openings, sash, roof and wall construction are largely intact.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is significant as part of Lancaster City's late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century cigar leaf tobacco processing and storage industry. It is presented as a good example of the side-gabled late-nineteenth-century version of tobacco warehouse design and as representative of a larger group of industrial buildings of the period in the city.
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 90001395, listed September 21, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 302--304 N. Plum St., Lancaster |
|---|---|
| County | Lancaster County |
| Listed | September 21, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90001395 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c.1880-1940 |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Retains very good integrity apart from stucco covering on the east elevation; occupied as a leaf tobacco warehouse in later decades, with a tobacco dryer addition of about 1939. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Lancaster City Historic District |
| Coordinates | 40.04357, -76.29837 (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 90001395.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5344402
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.