Cold Spring Farm Springhouse
Why it's listed
Built in the late nineteenth century of fieldstone, this one-story spring house measures about 12 by 24 feet and stands over a small unnamed stream, set into the embankment of a rural road about 2½ miles south of Bushkill, near the Delaware River. It once served a farmhouse that has since been demolished. A concrete dam, built around 1909, holds back the stream to form a watercress bed measuring 29 by 22 feet, reached by a slate walk. Below the dam lie the rusted remains of a small waterwheel that powered a butter churn housed in a shed beside it, whose stone foundations survive. The nomination treats the building as a typical example of the spring houses that dotted the Upper Delaware Valley before rural electrification in the 1930s. Its cold running water, storage function and auxiliary equipment make it a useful record of a way of life that relied on water rather than electric power.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the spring house is a typical surviving example of the many cold-water storage structures that supported rural life in the Upper Delaware Valley before rural electrification in the 1930s. Its surviving features, including the watercress bed and the remains of a waterwheel-driven butter churn, are said to make it useful for interpreting rural life and energy use.
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 79000246, listed August 24, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | NE of Monroe, Monroe |
|---|---|
| County | Monroe County |
| Listed | August 24, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79000246 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c. late 19th century |
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Exploration/Settlement, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Roof is a replacement wood shingle roof in poorer condition than the stonework; masonry of the watercress bed needs repair; the structure is otherwise in relatively good condition. |
| Acreage | 0.6 |
| Coordinates | 41.06230, -75.01866 (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 79000246.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5142350
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.