Eagles Mere Historic District
Why it's listed
Eagles Mere is a resort community of cottages, boat houses and churches grouped around a spring-fed lake 2,100 feet above sea level in the Allegheny Mountains of Sullivan County. Development began in 1877 when lots south of the lake were sold, and the 1885 purchase of the lake by a syndicate led to the building of hotels and the Eagles Mere Railway. At its height, five large hotels could accommodate more than 1,100 guests, and the hotels employed about one thousand staff each summer. Only the cottages survive from that era. Many of the district's cottages are fine examples of the Shingle, Queen Anne and Craftsman styles, and the community is regarded as one of Pennsylvania's best preserved turn-of-the-century resort communities. Its lakeside covenants, which kept trees and construction back from the shoreline, are cited as an early conservation effort. The lake, beach and wooded shoreline remain largely unchanged.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the district is significant for its association with the mountain and lake resort leisure movement from the late nineteenth to the first half of the twentieth century, and as an early example of successful conservation effort since the 1870s. It also argues the district holds a large concentration of domestic resort architecture in the Shingle, Queen Anne and Craftsman styles.
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 96000718, listed June 28, 1996. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by PA 42, Lakewood, LaPorte, and Forest Aves., Shrewsbury Township, Eagles Mere |
|---|---|
| County | Sullivan County |
| Listed | June 28, 1996 |
| Reference number | 96000718 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1877-1945 |
| Architectural style | Shingle Style, Queen Anne, Bungalow/Craftsman, Prairie School |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Entertainment/Recreation, Conservation |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The Eagles Mere Association owns the lake, shoreline and beach; the document states the hotels of the district are gone, and that the cottages remain. |
| Acreage | 570 |
| Within district | Eagles Mere Historic District (Boundary Increase) |
| Coordinates | 41.41568, -76.57666 (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 96000718.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5325359
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.