Weaver, Valentine, House
Also known as: Weaver House
Why it's listed
Set on Church Street near the center of Macungie, Pennsylvania, this large suburban country house follows the Gothic Cottage form drawn from A. J. Downing's 1851 pattern book, with fancy slate roofs, carpentered Gothic verge boards and a wide three-bay wood porch. It was built for Valentine Weaver, a leading figure in the regional iron industry who had worked at the Crane and Thomas iron companies and later established the Lock Ridge Furnace at Alburtis. The 1876 county atlas singled out the house as a substantial country seat. Its interior retains a marble Second Empire fireplace, a walnut stair and one of the most complete surviving programs of wood graining in the region. The house also preserves early hot-air heating, a calcium carbide gas lighting system and an automatic coal feed, along with a smokehouse, springhouse and octagonal outhouse. Together these features show the self-sufficient rural life of an industrialist's household in the late nineteenth century.
Significance in brief: The house is significant as the residence of Valentine Weaver, a major figure in the development of the Pennsylvania iron industry, and as a well-preserved example of a rural industrial magnate's home. The nomination stresses its largely unchanged exterior and interior, particularly its extensive original graining and early mechanical systems.
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 84003482, listed June 28, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 146 S. Church St., Macungie |
|---|---|
| County | Lehigh County |
| Listed | June 28, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84003482 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Architectural style | Gothic Cottage |
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The Weaver family remained in the home until three years ago; the barn is in ruins. |
| Acreage | 1.4 |
| Coordinates | 40.51134, -75.55556 (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 84003482.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7911030
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.