Ligonier Historic District
Also known as: See Also:Fort Ligonier; National Guard Armory
Why it's listed
Ligonier, a borough of about 1,900 in the Ligonier Valley, grew around a diamond-and-gridiron plan laid out in 1817 by Col. John Ramsey on the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh Turnpike. The district holds 519 properties, 81 percent of them contributing, spanning construction from about 1790 to 1944. Early buildings include the William Ashcom House, a c. 1790 I-House that served as a dwelling and cobbler's shop, and the Bates McColly House, a c. 1826 brick I-House with Flemish bond facade brickwork. The arrival of the Ligonier Valley Railroad in 1878 brought an 1870 to 1920 building boom, when the population nearly quadrupled between 1878 and 1900 and lumber, stone, and iron ore moved through the town. Its later Queen Anne, Gothic Revival, and Four-Square houses, along with worker and middle-class neighborhoods, document this prosperous period. The district is valued for its intact layers of 18th- through early 20th-century buildings and transportation history.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the district is locally significant in Transportation and Commerce for its succession of transportation routes serving the community, from a colonial military road and a federal-period state road to a turnpike, a railroad, and an early 20th century highway. It is also locally significant in Architecture for its collection of resources dating from about 1790 to 1944 that represent successive periods of the town's history.
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 94001054, listed August 30, 1994. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Jct. of Main and Market Sts., Ligonier |
|---|---|
| County | Westmoreland County |
| Listed | August 30, 1994 |
| Reference number | 94001054 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | C. 1790-1944 |
| Architectural style | Gable-Front, I-House, Center-Hall Georgian; Federal; Queen Anne, Gothic Revival; Bungalow, Craftsman |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Transportation, Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 166 |
| Coordinates | 40.24378, -79.23884 (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 94001054.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6546751
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.