Teller Brothers-Reed Tobacco Historic District
Why it's listed
Five brick buildings and one former site on the east side of the 200 block of North Prince Street in Lancaster form a tobacco district built mostly between about 1865 and 1900. The three-and-one-half-story John F. Reed & Co. Cigar Factory, dating from about 1865, has a late-Federal appearance and seems to have begun as a double house before being expanded. The Teller Bros. warehouses, the South Building from about 1877 and the North Building from about 1885, were built for a Philadelphia leaf tobacco firm and show the shift from pitched to flat roofs on industrial buildings. The J. R. Bitner Tobacco Warehouse, from about 1880, combined storage with a box shop. A fire in 1984 destroyed the Lancaster Paint & Glass Co. front building and damaged the rear Lancaster Paint Works, which is included as a contributing building for its warehouse construction. The district's close ties to the adjacent railroad lines add to its significance.
Significance in brief: The district is significant as part of Lancaster City's late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century cigar leaf tobacco industry, and as an intact group of brick warehouse buildings whose sites were tied to nearby railroad lines. The John F. Reed & Co. Cigar Factory is described as a rare early cigar factory that appears to have originally been a dwelling. The Teller Bros. warehouses are typical of new warehouse construction 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 90001406, listed September 21, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | N. Prince St., 200 block, E side, Lancaster |
|---|---|
| County | Lancaster County |
| Listed | September 21, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90001406 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | C. 1877-1920 |
| Architectural style | Late-Federal (John F. Reed & Co. Cigar Factory); other buildings described as warehouse architecture |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Building E (Lancaster Paint Works) is not in use after fire damage and awaits restoration; the other buildings have been renovated and are in commercial use, including a mall of shops, an automotive supplies business, an architectural firm and a rug importing business. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Within district | Lancaster City Historic District |
| Coordinates | 40.04308, -76.29344 (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 90001406.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7697587
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.