Montgomery, William, House
Why it's listed
Built in 1803 and 1804 on North Queen Street in Lancaster, this three-and-one-half story brick house was constructed for William Montgomery, a prominent Lancaster attorney. An inscription found on a removed baseboard names Stephen Hills as house carpenter. The house has a slate lateral gable roof, Flemish-bond brick on the front, and an elaborate dentilled cornice. Its interior originally had a large north side hall with an elliptical stair and two rooms to the south, including elliptical rear parlors. Despite alterations in 1917 and later, the house retains much of its Federal character. Hills later designed the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg, and this house is his only documented work in Lancaster County. Its elliptical rear rooms are the only known examples of that form in the county. The building has been vacant since the mid-1990s.
Significance in brief: The house is regarded as among the finest early Federal residences in Lancaster and the best local example of the style. It is the only documented Lancaster County work of architect Stephen Hills, and its surviving elliptical rear parlors are the only such rooms known 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 00000519, listed May 18, 2000. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 19-21 S. Queen St., Lancaster |
|---|---|
| County | Lancaster County |
| Listed | May 18, 2000 |
| Reference number | 00000519 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1803-1804 |
| Architect / builder | Stephen Hills (house carpenter/architect) |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Vacant since the adjacent Watt and Shand store closed in 1995. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Lancaster City Historic District |
| Coordinates | 40.02854, -76.30488 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 00000519.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q8015754
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.