Reading Furnace Historic District


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 associated with a prominent Iron works business owned by Samuel Van Leer. 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.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.