Miller's House at Spring Mill
Why it's listed
Built in two sections of local gneiss stone, the Miller's House at Spring Mill stands beside the Schuylkill River on North Lane in Conshohocken. The main block dates to about 1770 and was the residence of the miller Joseph Paul, who shared the mill with Thomas Livezey, Jr. A western addition of about 1820 was added to it. The main section has a transversed Georgian plan, with the entrance in the middle of the long hall and the chimney in the center of the back wall, and corner fireplaces in both parlors. The nomination states that no known examples of this plan variation exist in the Philadelphia region. A rare cast iron hob grate of the Pantheon pattern survives in one parlor fireplace. The house is regarded as an unusually intact example of a middle class vernacular house built for a mill owner, with much of its original woodwork, sash and hardware still in place. It was vacant for more than thirty years before being sealed.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is architecturally significant for its highly unusual transversed Georgian floor plan, with corner fireplaces and the chimney on the non-gable side, which it says has no known precedent in the area. It also cites the rare Pantheon-pattern hob grate and the high level of original integrity, including the building never having been renovated.
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 89002281, listed January 4, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | North Ln. and Hector St., Conshohocken |
|---|---|
| County | Montgomery County |
| Listed | January 4, 1990 |
| Reference number | 89002281 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1770-1820 |
| Architectural style | COLONIAL/Georgian |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Vacant for over thirty years; the building was sealed after some water and vandal damage. |
| Acreage | 0.4 |
| Coordinates | 40.07591, -75.28637 (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.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 89002281.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6858999
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.