National Register of Historic Places

Reading Furnace Historic District

Warwick, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Listed
July 29, 1987
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
87000797

About this property

The Reading Furnace Historic District is a national historic district that is located in Warwick Township and East Nantmeal Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. The Reading Furnace was built in 1736 by iron pioneer William Branson, then later owned by his grandson, a prominent Iron works owner and American Revolutionary War officer, Samuel Van Leer. Branson also owned the nearby historical Warrenpoint House 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. The location is listed as the site of one of George Washington's temporary headquarters. This furnace also supplied cannons and cannonballs for the Revolutionary Army. The district includes seven contributing buildings, two contributing sites, and one contributing structure with a former iron furnace and farm. The buildings are the mansion house, the tenant house, a barn, a large shed, and three outbuildings. The stone mansion was built in three sections between 1744 and 1936. The latest addition was completed under the direction of R. Brognard Okie. The contributing sites are the remains of an eighteenth-century dam and the foundation of the 1736 Reading Furnace. The contributing structure is a stone arch bridge (1904). National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Chester County, Pennsylvania List of Washington's Headquarters during the Revolutionary War

Location

Warwick, Chester County, Pennsylvania
40.14739, -75.76867

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Brower's Bridge
Industrial
0 mi
Winings, Jacob, House and Clover Mill
Industrial
0.3 mi
Warwick Mills
Industrial
0.7 mi
Lahr Farm
Industrial
1 mi
Bull, Thomas, House
Industrial
1.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was Reading Furnace Historic District listed on the National Register?

Reading Furnace Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 29, 1987.

What type of historic resource is Reading Furnace Historic District?

Reading Furnace Historic District is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Reading Furnace Historic District?

The period of significance for Reading Furnace Historic District is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Reading Furnace Historic District?

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