Reading Furnace Historic District

	Reading Furnace Historic District
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	U.S. Historic district
	Reading Furnace and Farm buildings, September 2010
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Location	Mansion Road, Warwick Township and East Nantmeal Township, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	40°08′49″N 75°46′08″W / 40.14694°N 75.76889°WCoordinates: 40°08′49″N 75°46′08″W / 40.14694°N 75.76889°W
Area	13.3 acres (5.4 ha)
Built	1744
Built by	Drexel, Gottlieb
Architect	Okie, Richardson Brognard
NRHP reference No.	87000797
Added to NRHP	July 30, 1987

Reading Furnace Historic District is a national historic district located in Warwick Township and East Nantmeal Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

History[]

Reading Furnace Historic District was owned by iron pioneer William Branson, then later his grandson a prominent Iron works owner and American Revolutionary War officer Samuel Van Leer. Branson also owned the nearby historical Warrenpoint House^[2] The furnace was a center of colonial iron making and is associated with the introduction of the Franklin Stove, and the retreat of George Washington's army following its defeat at the Battle of Brandywine, where they came for musket repairs. Nathanael Greene's company and Washington were both recorded encamping here.^[3]^[4]^[5] The location is listed as a temporary George Washington Headquarter.^[6] This furnace also supplied cannon and cannonballs for the Revolutionary Army.

The district includes 7 contributing buildings, 2 contributing sites, and 1 contributing structure with a former iron furnace and farm. The buildings are the mansion house, tenant house, barn, large shed, and three outbuildings. The stone mansion was built in three sections between 1744 and 1936. The latest addition was done under the direction of R. Brognard Okie. The contributing sites are the remains of an 18th-century dam and the foundation of the 1736 Reading Furnace. The contributing structure is a stone arch bridge (1904).^[7]

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.^[1]

Reading Mansion

References[]

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ "PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
^ "Founders Online: General Orders, 18 September 1777".
^ "General Washington retreated to Reading to have the army's muskets repaired,," Reading Furnace Historic District Historical Marker, May 12, 1948.[livingplaces.com/PA/Chester_County/East_Nantmeal_Township/Reading_Furnace_Historic_District.html]
^ Jordan, J. A. Lemay (1962). The Life of Benjamin Franklin, Volume 2: Printer and Publisher, 1730-1747. pp. 468–470. ISBN 9780806352398.
^ "The Iron and Steel Heritage partners with Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources".
^ "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). ARCH: Pennsylvania's Historic Architecture & Archaeology. Retrieved 2012-11-02. Note: This includes Estelle Cremers and William Sisson (1987). "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Reading Furnace Historic District" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-12-07.

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[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.

[2] "PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Retrieved December 20, 2013.

[3] "Founders Online: General Orders, 18 September 1777".

[4] "General Washington retreated to Reading to have the army's muskets repaired,," Reading Furnace Historic District Historical Marker, May 12, 1948.[livingplaces.com/PA/Chester_County/East_Nantmeal_Township/Reading_Furnace_Historic_District.html]

[5] Jordan, J. A. Lemay (1962). The Life of Benjamin Franklin, Volume 2: Printer and Publisher, 1730-1747. pp. 468–470. ISBN 9780806352398.

[6] "The Iron and Steel Heritage partners with Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources".

[nom-7] "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). ARCH: Pennsylvania's Historic Architecture & Archaeology. Retrieved 2012-11-02. Note: This includes Estelle Cremers and William Sisson (1987). "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Reading Furnace Historic District" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-12-07.

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