Coopersburg Historic District
Also known as: See Also:Linden Grove Pavilion
Why it's listed
Coopersburg is a borough whose historic district follows Main Street and Station Avenue in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Settlement began around a hotel founded by George Bachman in the 1740s, and the village grew as a stop on the Bethlehem Pike. The North Pennsylvania Railroad reached it in 1856, creating a second commercial centre near the station. Tilghman S. Cooper Sr. began breeding pure bred Jersey cattle on his farm in 1874, and his annual sale, held in the borough from 1900 to 1931, drew national attention to the dairy industry. The district contains 176 buildings erected before 1930, including Queen Anne and Colonial Revival houses on the Cooper estate, Federal-era houses on North Main Street, and vernacular brick and frame dwellings built for working families. Its buildings show how a small Pennsylvania German farming and trading town developed across more than a century.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues that Coopersburg was one of the first villages settled in Lehigh County and an early way station on the highway between Allentown, Bethlehem and Philadelphia. Its growth after the North Pennsylvania Railroad arrived in 1856, and its Jersey cattle breeding enterprise led by Tilghman S. Cooper Sr., are presented as central to its development. The district also holds a range of vernacular and high-style houses and institutional buildings that illustrate its Pennsylvania German character.
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 82003798, listed April 26, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Main St. and PA 309, Coopersburg |
|---|---|
| County | Lehigh County |
| Listed | April 26, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82003798 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | c. 1730-1931 |
| Architect / builder | Genaah Jordan (architect of Coopersburg Elementary School, 1909); Henry Titlow (contractor, Coopersburg Elementary School) |
| Architectural style | Mixed: Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Federal, Victorian Gothic and vernacular Pennsylvania German house forms |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Commerce, Agriculture, Transportation, Architecture, Religion, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Mixed use; the Cooper estate headquarters houses a private junior college, several former residences are now apartments or private homes, and the sales pavilion is unoccupied. |
| Acreage | 93 |
| Coordinates | 40.51050, -75.38841 (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 82003798.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5167954
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.