Milanville Historic District
Also known as: See Also: Skinner's Falls Bridge
Why it's listed
Milanville is a village of wood-frame houses, a store and a schoolhouse built mostly between 1850 and 1910, set along River Road where Calkins Creek meets the Delaware River in Wayne County. The earliest surviving building is the Nathan Skinner House, framed at Tammany Flats and floated downstream on timber rafts in 1815. The Skinner family, who owned the village sawmill, were the valley's leading lumbering and timber rafting family, and Calvin Skinner gave the village its name. The Beach family ran the tannery, which produced leather for industrial belts. After the hemlock supply was exhausted, the tannery became an acid factory producing charcoal, wood alcohol and chemicals for explosives during World War I. The mills and factory are gone, but the residences and the Milanville Store, which kept its traditional function, still reflect those industries. The district is valued for its concentration of vernacular houses in Greek Revival and Victorian styles, and for its largely unchanged rural setting.
Significance in brief: The district is significant for its link to the lumbering, tanning and wood distillation industries that shaped the Upper Delaware Valley in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, particularly through the Skinner and Beach families. Its architecture, dominated by vernacular buildings in Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne and Eastlake styles, is also cited as distinctive, with a high proportion of contributing buildings and good integrity.
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 93000352, listed April 29, 1993. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly, Rt. 63027 from jct. with Rt. 63029 E to Skinner's Falls Bridge via bridge approach rd., Damascus Township, Milanville |
|---|---|
| County | Wayne County |
| Listed | April 29, 1993 |
| Reference number | 93000352 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1815-c.1920 |
| Architectural style | Mid-19th Century/Greek Revival; Late Victorian/Queen Anne/Eastlake |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Document states the Skinner's Falls Bridge and some buildings were restored in the 1980s and 1990s; the acid factory and sawmill are gone. |
| Acreage | 20 |
| Coordinates | 41.67201, -75.06404 (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 93000352.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6850792
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.