Werner, William, House
Why it's listed
Built in 1762 on a Main Street lot in Lititz, Lancaster County, this one and one-half story frame house blends regional Germanic building methods with English Georgian proportions. Its wattle and daub walls and clapboards sit on a stone foundation, and a central brick chimney rises through a slate gable roof. The builder, Werner, was the town cooper, tooth drawer and phlebotomist, and he ran his business from the house. The front vestibule served as a bank and store, and its safe remains. A two-faced clock built into the wall between the two main rooms was made by William Henry Hall, a Lititz clockmaker and teacher who had painted the dial at the Ephrata Academy. An 1849 addition added two front dormers, each with a Palladian window, and enlarged the rear, which serves as a kitchen today. The house is regarded as one of the best preserved and least altered 18th-century homes in Lancaster County, showing the shift from Germanic construction to classical planned-town design.
Significance in brief: The house is presented as an example of English Georgian design influencing regional Germanic construction in Lancaster County. It is regarded as one of the best preserved, least altered 18th-century homes in the county. Its double clock by local clockmaker William Henry Hall and its use as a town bank and store add to its local significance in architecture and commerce.
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 84003451, listed May 10, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 66 E. Main St., Lititz |
|---|---|
| County | Lancaster County |
| Listed | May 10, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84003451 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1700-1799 |
| Architectural style | English Georgian influence on regional Germanic construction |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition recorded as good and altered; the 1849 rear addition serves as a kitchen today. |
| Acreage | 0.5 |
| Within district | Lititz Moravian Historic District |
| Coordinates | 40.15665, -76.30487 (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.
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 84003451.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q8020198
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.