The Manheim Borough Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. Portions of the content on this web page were adapted from a copy of the original nomination document. [1]
Manheim Borough, located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is a small industrial/commercial town set in a rural landscape. The borough is situated in the northwest part of Lancaster County in an area of rolling hills. Laid out in a grid plan, its streets radiate northwest, northeast, southwest and southeast from the centrally located Market Square at the intersection of Main Street (Pennsylvania Route 72) and High Street (Pennsylvania Route 772). The Chickies Creek borders the town on the east and south. Covering approximately 230 acres, the Manheim Borough Historic District encompasses much of the grid and is roughly bounded by Fuller Drive on the southeast and Colebrook Street on the northwest. The district extends as far as Snyder Street on the southwest and North Laurel Street on the northeast. Including historic residential, industrial and commercial areas of the borough the district contains 896 resources. 784 of these are identified as contributing buildings and 111 are considered non-contributing buildings. There is one contributing site. Of the total principal buildings there are 759 identified as residential, 98 as commercial, 21 as industrial and 17 as institutional buildings. The predominant architectural styles are Italianate, Eastlake, Second Empire, Renaissance Revival, Bungalow and American Foursquare. Buildings are brick or frame with an average scale of 2-3 stories in height and 3-5 bays in width. The period of development is 1762-1949. Some buildings retain architectural integrity while many, especially residential buildings, have had original ornamentation removed or covered with synthetic materials.
Major routes through the district, as noted before, are Pennsylvania Route 72 (Main Street), which runs from northwest to southeast and Pennsylvania Route 772, which runs from the southwest on West High Street to Market Square and turns to the southeast on South Charlotte Street and New Charlotte Street. These streets currently receive a high volume of truck traffic, especially the Main Street corridor. Other major but less heavily traveled streets include Stiegel Street, Ferdinand Street, Wolfe Street, Penn Street and Grant Street. Many of the streets included in the district are bisected by alleys, providing access to the rear of buildings and from street to street. CSX rail lines cross the district near the southeast edge.
The district contains a mixture of residential, commercial, institutional and industrial buildings, most dating from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century. Generally residential and commercial buildings are clustered densely within each block and most are set close together on small lots. Buildings are commonly constructed with no set-backs or are set slightly back from the street, with a narrow strip of lawn. Most are two or three stories in height, with a few early one-story residential buildings. A small number of four story commercial buildings are present in the district. Buildings are generally taller than they are wide, with window and door openings two times as tall as they are wide. Many residential buildings feature street facing porches. Some buildings combine residential and commercial purposes with a storefront on the first floor and residences on upper floors. Residential buildings are generally two-story, brick or wood frame and constructed as single houses or duplexes. A small number of brick or frame rowhouses are located in the district. Brick and wood frame commercial buildings are located throughout the district but have the heaviest concentrations present on High Street around and near the Market Square and on Main Street. Several large three-story brick commercial buildings and two substantial brick and stone bank buildings are located in the two-block area of Market Square and Main Street. Industrial buildings are characteristically brick or wood frame, one to two stories in height and are predominantly located in the south and southeast areas of the district.
Predominant architectural styles include Italianate, Second Empire, Eastlake, Bungalow, American Foursquare and early 20th century industrial styles such as Renaissance Revival and Art Moderne. Exterior materials include brick, stone, wood frame, log and wood frame covered with synthetic siding. Architectural styles include examples from the district's period of significance, 1762-1949, but the majority were constructed during the district's greatest period of growth, 1860-1930. Thus, the architecture and stylistic details of the district is predominantly late Victorian and early 20th century popular styles.
Residential buildings are generally simple two and one-half story brick or wood frame with low-pitched or lateral gable roofs. Approximately 50% of residential buildings are c. mid-late nineteenth century, are constructed in or have characteristics of the Italianate style or feature a mixture of Eastlake style ornamentation and Italianate influenced bracketed cornices and porches. Many wood frame residential buildings have been covered with synthetic siding materials. In some cases ornamental woodwork has been removed or covered with synthetic materials.
Examples of the Italianate influence in residential buildings can be seen at 25 East High Street. A two-story brick building, this residence features a low-pitched gable roof with a large bracketed cornice. Other Italianate style features include the decorative hoodmolds over tall, narrow windows and a bracketed canopy over the double doors of the entrance.
Many duplexes display a mixture of Italianate style and Eastlake style ornamentation. 79-81 North Charlotte Street is a two and one-half story brick semi-detached residence with a gable roof and a bracketed cornice. The one over one sash windows are topped by hoodmolds ornamented with incised decoration. Each of the two entrance doors is topped with a single light transom and an incised ornamented hoodmold. The centrally located front porch features Eastlake influenced turned posts and jig-sawn ornament.
The Second Empire style is also present in residential buildings. The residence at 101 South Charlotte Street is a three-story brick building with a wood frame addition. This building features a straight-sided mansard roof with dormers, ornamented window hoodmolds and bowed projecting bays.
Approximately 25% of existing residential buildings are of the one and one-half story Bungalow or two and one-half story American Foursquare style. Early twentieth century bungalows in the district are generally one and one-half story, wood frame or masonry construction. The stucco covered masonry bungalow at 304 West High Street features a gable roof with overhanging eaves and exposed rafters. Other characteristics typical of this style include the battered porch piers, tapered porch posts and a gable-roofed dormer with overhanging eaves.
Another Craftsman influenced residential building style is the American Foursquare, present as single and duplex residences. 230 West High Street illustrates this style in a duplex with square two and one-half story wood frame building. This residence features a hipped roof, paired windows on the second floor and in the hipped roof dormers.
Commercial buildings are generally three to four stories in height and are constructed of brick or wood frame with flat, low-pitched or lateral gable roofs. Ornamentation and style of the majority of commercial buildings reflect the popular design influences of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Smaller commercial buildings are generally two and one-half to three stories in height, larger commercial buildings are three to four stories in height. Most are brick with altered first floor storefronts and intact upper floors. First floor alterations include the replacement of original windows. Many commercial buildings have twentieth century synthetic materials covering the first floor facade. Mid-late nineteenth century buildings comprise about 85% of existing commercial buildings and display variations of Italianate or Eastlake style ornamentation. Approximately 10% of existing commercial buildings were constructed in the early twentieth century in Renaissance Revival, Classical Revival or vernacular interpretations of these styles. Approximately 2% of commercial buildings in the district were constructed in the mid-late twentieth century.
Examples of Italianate style commercial buildings include the Stiegel/Arndt Building at the northeast corner of Main Street and High Street. Constructed between 1865 and 1875, this building is brick, three stories high and five bays wide with a low-pitched roof and a heavily bracketed cornice. On the front facade each bay is separated by brick pilasters topped by carved terra cotta capitals that support brick arches over the third floor windows. The second and third floor windows feature ornate hoodmolds. An earlier storefront may be hidden behind the present twentieth century "skin" on the first floor facade.
The most intact commercial building is Kready's Store, located at 60-62 North Main Street. Constructed for combined residential and commercial purposes, this three-story, 6 bay, flat-roofed brick building features an ornamental bracketed cornice. The southern half of the street-facing facade displays a unique first floor storefront with centrally located, recessed double doors and paired one over one display windows. A bracketed cornice surmounts the storefront, supported by lotus-form Egyptian Revival style iron columns. Pierced decoration encases the bottom of the display windows. The first floor of the northern half of the building contains a raised panel wood door and two sash windows with paneled shutters. The two upper floors are uniform on both halves with two over two sash windows and louvered shutters. Another important commercial building is the 1881 Manheim Railroad Station. Located at the intersection of Railroad and South Charlotte streets, this building is a one and one-half story Eastern Stick Style wood frame train station. It features a broad gable roof with overhanging bracketed eaves. Other Stick Style characteristics include the narrow horizontal wood siding with applied vertical and horizontal wood decorative strips.
Twentieth century commercial architectural styles are also present in the district. The 1924 Manheim National Bank is a two story brick building. This building displays characteristics of the Neo-Classical style in its paired cast stone pilasters and entablature with medallions. A flat roof with parapet tops this example of popular early twentieth century financial institution architecture. Another example of twentieth century commercial architecture is the Keystone National Bank, 1 Market Square. This one and one-half story gray stone bank has a massive arched entry, columns and pilasters with acanthus leaf capitals and a Beaux Arts style carved relief on the entablature.
The district also includes 21 industrial resources. These include buildings from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Industrial buildings are characteristically one and one-half to three stories tall and are constructed of brick or wood frame. 75% are from the early-mid twentieth century. The integrity of most industrial buildings is good. Alterations generally consist of replacement or in-fill of original windows. Predominant architectural styles include vernacular interpretations of Renaissance Revival and Neo-Classical design motifs as well as Eastern Stick Style and Art Moderne.
The Eisenlohr Cigar Factory, now Graybills Tool and Die, is an early twentieth century industrial building located at 147 West High Street. This three story brick building has a flat roof with parapet and corbelled brick decorative brick-work at the cornice. Tall, thin windows are topped with segmental brick arches. This building illustrates the persistence of some earlier Italianate influenced forms in the proportion and shape of windows with the beginning of some twentieth century design motifs in the upper corners of the facade.
The Fuller Factory complex on South Pitt Street is a group of four early-mid twentieth century factory, warehouse and office buildings. Fuller Factory, Manheim Plant 1 is a one story brick warehouse/factory constructed in a simple vernacular style with a flat roof with parapets at the sides. Paired sets of metal factory sash windows are located in the upper parts of the walls. Manheim Plant 2 is a 1 story brick factory building with a flat roof, parapet sides and walls constructed with a large recessed opening fitted with metal factory sash windows separated by brick piers. The Fuller Office building is two story brick with a flat roof and a parapet on all four sides. Cast stone Renaissance Revival style details are seen in the cornice band, second story window lintels, window sills and pedimented door surround with pilasters. Fuller Plant 4 is a two story brick factory building with flat roof and front parapet. Recessed window openings are separated by brick piers.
The Bond Caster and Wheel Corporation, on South Penn Street includes late nineteenth century and early twentieth century factory buildings. Two one-story wood frame production buildings on the site date from the late nineteenth century and feature Eastern Stick style design elements of narrow board wood siding, applied horizontal and vertical decorative strips and multi-paned wood sash windows. One of these two buildings has "saw-tooth" light collectors on the roof. A two-story brick factory building completes this group of industrial buildings. This factory building features a low-pitched gable roof with over-hanging eaves and exposed rafter ends. Paired 15/15 light wood sash windows with brick segmental-arched openings are on the first floor. Wood lintels extend beyond the edges of the 15/15 light wood sash windows on the second floor. Ten light transoms are present above all windows and doors.
At South Penn and West Stiegel Street is the Manheim Manufacturing and Belting company. A one story brick office and factory building, it is designed with Art Moderne elements. This building features a flat roof with cast stone parapet, a projecting entrance with streamlined cast stone top and a molded cast stone door surround.
Institutional buildings in the district include churches, schools and a fire company building. Construction materials include brick and wood frame and reflect Gothic Revival, Italianate, Renaissance Revival and Modern architectural styles. Ages of these buildings range from mid-nineteenth to late twentieth century.
The 1891 Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, located at East High and Hazel Street, is a three-story, brick, Gothic Revival style church with a tower. The building features pointed arch window and door openings with decorative sandstone lintels, a corbelled brick cornice and round stained-glass window in the center of the facade.
Hope Hose Company Firehouse is a three-story brick building constructed in 1904. Windows in the building are round-arched on the east and west facade and flat-arched with keystone lintels on the third floor of the south facing facade. This building displays decorative elements of the Renaissance Revival style in its roof-top balustrade, round-arched gable parapet with round-arched windows, applied wood swag moldings and the open belfry.
There is one contributing site in the district. The Zion Evangelical Church cemetery is located at the intersection of East High and Hazel streets. This cemetery dates from the period of a previous church building on the site of the present Zion Church. A variety of limestone, granite and marble gravestones are present in the churchyard. The earliest stone dates from 1774.
Contributing resources in the district reflect the community's growth over the period from 1762-1945. Most commercial buildings have altered first floor storefronts with twentieth century materials laid over older designs. On the whole the scale and proportion of the district remains good. Non-contributing resources are 14% of the total number of buildings in the district. All of these buildings are mid-late twentieth century residential buildings constructed after the period of significance. The largest concentration of non-contributing buildings is located in the area of West Colebrook and Hart Street. Restoration activities in the Borough include the Summy House, which had later alterations removed from its front facade the Kready Store, an intact nineteenth century store/residence was rescued from years of neglect, painted and re-opened in 1998. A number of merchants in the Market Square area are beginning to renovate their storefronts some, unfortunately, with Post-modernist style additions. Overall the existing buildings of the district convey the historical and architectural period of significance of the district.
Significance
The Manheim Borough Historic District meets National Register criteria A and C for significance in three areas: commerce, industry and architecture. Industrial and commercial growth, a response to the needs of the surrounding agricultural community and the changes of the industrial revolution, developed the borough from a collection of local craftsmen to an important small industrial and commercial center. The architectural significance of the district lies in its collection of commercial, residential and industrial buildings. These buildings reflect the historically popular styles and types of architecture in a small industrial and commercial town of the region. The district's period of significance is 1762-1949. This period includes the district's beginning as the location of a single industry, its growth as a village of craftsmen, continues through the industrial and commercial boom of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, and finally concludes with the changes of the World War II period. The district contains buildings from its entire period of significance with more than 50% reflecting the period of greatest growth, the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
In 1762 Henry William Stiegel, a German immigrant and successful iron producer in Lancaster County, arrived in Manheim. The town had already been surveyed and laid out in 359 lots by David Stoudt. Stiegel purchased a one-third interest in the land laid out northwest of the Chiquesalunga Creek and he became the main force in the town's earliest growth by establishing glassworks buildings, razed in the early 1800's, were located at the corner of South Charlotte and Stiegel streets now the site of a late-nineteenth century residential building.
Manheim continued its growth as a small inland town with population and businesses increasing as the nineteenth century progressed. At the time of its incorporation as a borough in 1838, the population of the town had risen to 365 and the mixture of residential and commercial structures in the community attested to the fact that this was a growing local center.
As the nineteenth century progressed the district experienced increased industrial as well as commercial development. The arrival of the railroad in 1862 stimulated several decades of rapidly increasing growth and prosperity. The Reading and Columbia Railroad Line ran through the southern part of town and several industries sprang up in this area.
The railroad allowed industries in Manheim to reach markets beyond the local community. The increase of industries such as foundries, lumber and planing mills, and a brick yard led to a building boom. This significant period of growth is reflected in the population increases of this period. According to the United States Census records, the population of Manheim in 1860 was 856. By 1870 the population had increased to 1,122 and the 1890 census shows a population of 1,666.
Commerce also flourished in the second half of the nineteenth century. General stores, drug stores, clothing and jewelry stores and banks were constructed in the Market Square area and along Main Street. Five hotels served the needs of travelers from the rural areas of the county who came to sell their produce and purchase needed goods from the area merchants.
Churches, schools and other institutions sprang up in the period following 1860. The three small school houses show on the 1864 Atlas were replaced with a single large school building by 1875. The Hope Hose Company was founded to protect borough property from the threat of fire.
The early twentieth century period saw continued but less rapid growth in the district. Cigar making, lumber planing and milling still flourished and by 1913 the Eisenlohr Company was one of the largest cigar manufacturers in Manheim. Foundries, canneries, corn and pecan processing plants and garment factories employed hundreds of workers. Commercial growth was also increasing with successful stores and businesses. The local financial institutions constructed large buildings in the 1920's as prosperity continued.
With the economic pressures of depression in the 1930's the building and commercial boom of the late-nineteenth and early twentieth century diminished. By the start of World War II the district, although still adding some new housing, entered a period of wartime industry. The foundries continued to employ many district residents and the town remained a commercial center for the surrounding rural area. Few new commercial buildings were constructed. After the war local industries continued to provide employment for the borough's residents, but the time of dramatic economic and physical growth was over.
From 1945 to the present the district experienced a gradual decline in industry and commerce. The immediate postwar period and the 1950's were a time of relative status quo. Commercial and industrial business remained static. Industries such as the foundry and Raymark Asbestos continued to employ many district residents. With the 1960's, the district's fortunes began to decline and by the late 1970's the number of industrial jobs in the borough had fallen. Businesses failed and the district was no longer a flourishing center for local commerce. Since the late 1980's the district has been undergoing a revitalization effort. Local residents and businesses are attempting to attract interest in the district and several new commercial businesses have located in the Market Square and Main Street area.
The Manheim Borough Historic District is significant as an example of the importance of industry to the growth of small inland towns in Lancaster County. From the time of its founding in 1762, industry has been of prime importance to the district. The Stiegel glassworks, although only active for ten years, produced glassware that was sold in New York and Philadelphia and whose quality is still prized today. Unlike the similarly sized Lancaster County towns of Mount Joy, which was founded as the site of a tavern or Lititz, founded as a religious settlement, Manheim was founded as a center for industry.
Tax assessment lists of 1780 reveal a variety of craftsmen living and working in Manheim including carpenters or joiners, clockmakers, weavers and masons. Of the 60 taxable property owners listed 26 were craftsmen or professionals. These craftsmen produced goods desired by their rural neighbors. One of the most important of the local craftsmen of the 1780-1820 period was the joiner Emmanuel Dyer. Dyer and his family were responsible for the construction and decoration of several local buildings including the Zion Reformed Church near Brickerville in northeastern Lancaster County. His home, although altered from the original appearance contributes to the district at 128 South Main Street.
The presence of a brick yard and lumber mills in Manheim probably accounts for the large number of nineteenth century brick buildings, many with ornate wood trim, in the district. The Manheim "Sentinel" of September 24, 1869 reports that the American Railroad House hotel was "constructed of bricks made at the brickyard of E. P. Hostell" located on Mill Street.
Like the town of Mount Joy, Manheim's main engine of growth at the end of the nineteenth century was the explosion of industry in the region. Foundries, clothing factories and cigar making were some of the more prominent industries in the borough. Cigar making was a natural outgrowth of the flourishing cultivation of tobacco in the surrounding agricultural areas of Lancaster County. After 1865, cigar and tobacco processing businesses that employed 50 or more workers each were located throughout the district. By 1913 the Eisenlohr Company was one of the largest cigar manufacturers in Manheim. The Eisenlohr factory, now Graybills Tool and Die, is located at the corner of West High and Grant Streets.
The present Fuller Company was founded as the Hershey Machine and Foundry Company in 1900 and is located on South Cherry Street. The Fuller factory complex is constructed on the site of an earlier foundry and the Manheim Milling Company, a roller flourmill.
Another example of early twentieth century industry in Manheim is the Bond Wheel and Caster Corporation. This industry, founded as the Bond Foundry in 1905, was a manufacturer of metal parts for manufacturing equipment. The metal casting foundry was destroyed in a fire in 1974 but the company currently produces casters and hand trucks in the remaining late-nineteenth and early twentieth century buildings.
The William H. Noggle &a,p; Sons clothing factory was established in 1903. In 1929 the Noggle factory building was constructed at the corner of Ferdinand and South Wolf streets. This building is still serving an industrial use as the United Window Grill Division of United Plastics, Inc.
The Manheim Historic District is significant as an example of the role of industry in the creation and development of a small regional town. Like the similarly sized town of Mount Joy, Manheim is an outgrowth of flourishing industry in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Founded by the industry of glass making, the district illustrates the importance of industry in developing Manheim from a small settlement to a thriving industrial and commercial town.
Commerce is also an area of significance in the district. Although the district's origins do not spring from the establishment of a roadside tavern, the district is significant as the site of numerous taverns and hotels. Like the town of Mont Joy, a number of taverns in Manheim provided accommodations for travelers and residents. While Mount Joy was a stop for turnpike travelers, Manheim was a destination for farmers bringing goods from the surrounding rural area. As in Mount Joy, it was accessible at first by road and after 1864, by rail. Early taverns in the district include the Washington House located at the corner of Charlotte Street and High Street. The present Washington House Hotel building, which was constructed in the early 1900's, includes portions of a late eighteenth century tavern. The 1804 Spread Eagle Tavern is located at 220 South Main Street.
Later hotels illustrate the importance of the district as a commercial destination for travelers on the Reading and Columbia railroad. The district includes the 1869-1870 American Railroad House Hotel whose large size illustrates the popularity of Manheim as a destination. The Summy House, constructed in 1876 by S. G. Summy, a successful local hotelier, is located on South Main Street. In continuous operation as a hotel or restaurant since its construction, the Summy House adds to the commercial significance of the district.
The district also contains a large number of nineteenth century commercial buildings, illustrating the importance of commerce in that period of Manheim's development. The Arndt Store at 1 North Main Street, a general store, was started prior to 1850. This large three-story store building is also one of the most architecturally significant commercial buildings in district. It's large scale attests to the importance of Manheim as a local commercial center in the post-1865 period.
The combination of a residential and a commercial purpose in one building is an important feature of the district. Many buildings in the Market Square and Main Street areas were constructed for and are still being used for combined purposes. The best illustration of this common practice is the Kready Store and residence at 60-62 North Main Street. Serving both residential and commercial needs, this building is one of the best representations of how many buildings of the mid-late nineteenth century period combined these uses. Constructed c. 1865 -1875, Kready Store remained a combined residence and store into the 1970's.
Other towns in the Lancaster County region contain similar types of commercial buildings from the mid-late nineteenth centuries. Mount Joy's main intersection features many combined commercial and residential buildings as does Lititz. The style, scale and type of commercial buildings in the district illustrates a common regional pattern of small town centers.
The significance of commerce in the district is also apparent in early twentieth century buildings. Some of the most significant commercial buildings of this period include those constructed for financial institutions. Two banks are noted on the 1899 Atlas of Lancaster County, the Manheim National Bank and the Keystone National Bank. The Keystone National Bank, now the Fulton Bank, was opened in 1887 and in 1899 was located on the southeast side of Market Square. The bank was successful and constructed the present bank building in 1925 on the corner of Market Square and South Main Street. The Manheim National Bank building is shown on the 1899 Atlas in the 100 block of South Main Street. This financial institution constructed its current building in 1925. Located on opposite corners of the Market Square, these two financial institutions attest to a healthy economic climate as Manheim moved into the twentieth century.
Commerce in the district continues to the present time. There are few mid-late twentieth century commercial buildings in the district and most businesses are located in mid-late nineteenth or early twentieth century buildings whose storefronts have been altered in late twentieth century styles. Many of these commercial buildings still provide residential space in their upper floors. So essential is this dual use in the district that a fire in December of 1998 left several upper floor apartment dwellers homeless. The fire, in two buildings on Market Square, destroyed three businesses on the first floors and the residences above them. The buildings are being rebuilt and the same uses will be designed into the new buildings.
In addition to industry, commerce is significant in the district as an essential component in the growth of Manheim. Like the towns of Mount Joy and Lititz, Manheim grew as a result of the forces of industry and commerce. As a local center, Manheim provided the goods and services local rural residents required. The district's large number of existing commercial buildings illustrates the importance of commerce in the development of the small town in Lancaster County.
The Manheim Historic District is also significant in the area of architecture. Containing buildings from the entire period of significance, 1762-1949, the district illustrates the differences of style, scale and building materials from the late 1700's through the mid-twentieth century. With a large concentration of buildings from the mid-late nineteenth century the district is a significant example of architectural styles of that period.
Only a few buildings from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries remain in the district. These include the Keath House and the Fasig House, both relocated to East High Street. Each one and one-half story in height, these residential buildings are of log construction, one covered with wood siding. The Emmanuel Dyer House at 128 South Main Street illustrates the Georgian style, although greatly altered on the first floor.
The majority of residential and commercial buildings in the district reflect the Italianate or Eastlake influenced architecture of the mid-late nineteenth century. The district contains a majority of buildings with features of these styles. The proportion and scale of buildings in the district reflect the design ideals of this period with tall, thin window and door openings, heavy decorated cornices and street-facing porches. Even simple buildings display vernacular touches of Eastlake or Italianate inspired decoration. Other late-nineteenth century styles are found in the district including Second Empire, Gothic and Eastern Stick.
Two buildings in the district are attributed to prominent local architects. The Reading and Columbia Railroad station on South Charlotte Street at the rail line has been attributed to Philadelphia architect Frank Furness who designed several stations in Pennsylvania. The H. B. Musselman House, at 149 South Charlotte Street, was designed by Lancaster architect C. Emlen Urban in 1883. Although the integrity of this building has been highly compromised by a late twentieth century addition at the first floor level, the upper floors still reflect the original ornamentation and massing of Urban's design.
Industrial buildings in the district provide simplified versions of the popular architectural styles of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Eastern Stick style is found in the Bond Company buildings on South Penn Street. The popular revival styles of Neo-Classical and Renaissance Revival styles are found in the Eisenlohr Cigar Factory at the corner of West High and Grant streets and the Fuller Factory office building on South Cherry Street. The United Plastics building, formerly the William H. Noggle &a,p; Sons factory, is an example of the Art Moderne style.
With a high proportion of mid-late nineteenth century resources the district provides a significant collection of Italianate and Eastlake style influenced buildings. The high percentage of these styles reflect the district's period of greatest growth and present a cohesive picture of this period in the development of a small industrial and commercial center. While the district contains buildings from its entire period of significance and reflects the development of the borough as a whole, the architectural significance of the district lies in its high concentration of mid-late nineteenth century design, densely lining narrow streets.
While the similarly sized towns of Lititz and Mount Joy also contain concentrations of mid-late nineteenth century architecture, they also differ from the Manheim Borough. Lititz was founded as a religious settlement of Moravians and reflects the early design ideals and controls of the community in a large existing collection of late eighteenth and early nineteenth century buildings as well as a late-nineteenth century commercial square. Mount Joy flourished and grew in a manner similar to Manheim with industry and commerce flourishing at the same time. Mount Joy however has a different scale of buildings with a wider main street and less dense distribution of buildings.
The Manheim Borough Historic District is significant in the areas of industry, commerce and architecture. The district buildings reflect the development of Manheim as a commercial and industrial center for the surrounding rural community, from its beginning in 1762 through the first half of the twentieth century. The large concentration of mid-to-late nineteenth and early twentieth century commercial, industrial and residential buildings present the image of a small Lancaster County town, created by the industrial and commercial boom of that period. The district illustrates the importance of the industry and commerce that fueled the development of small towns in the Lancaster County area. The architecture of the district reflects the popular styles throughout the history of the borough. With a high percentage of mid-late nineteenth century commercial and residential buildings, the district stands as an important collection of popular styles of that period.
References
Atlas of Lancaster County, Philadelphia, 1875.
Atlas and Survey of Lancaster County. Philadelphia: Graves &a,p; Steinbarger, 1899.
Barnes, Horace R. "Industries of Lancaster County Prior to 1800," Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society, Vol. 100, No. 4, pp. 354-371
"Bond Foundry and Machine at Manheim," Intelligencer Journal, June 22, 1929, p. 2, col. 3.
Bridgens, Atlas of Lancaster County, 1864.
Centennial Souvenir of 1812-1912. Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, 1912.
Denney, John D. "The Reading and Columbia Railroad," Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society, Vol. 100, No. 3, pp. 286-318.
Ellis and Evans, History of Lancaster County, Philadelphia: Everts and Peck, 1883.
Graybill, Inda B."Cigar Making in Manheim," Unpublished Manuscript, Manheim Historical Society, 1998.
Harris, Randolph, and Gene Aleci. "The Reconnaissance Level Historic Sites Inventory of Manheim," The Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County, 1996.
"Manheim Borough." Lancaster County Historic Resource Survey Files. Located at Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County, 123 North Prince Street, Lancaster, PA.
Loose, J. W. W. "The Pecan Business In Manheim," Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society, Vol. 98, 1996, pp. 188-192.
Manheim Sentinel, September 24, 1869.
Manheim Sentinel, July 14, 1847.
"Noggle and Sons Have Wide Trade." Intelligencer Journal, June 22, 1929, p. 2, col. 4.
"Progress and History in Manheim." Intelligencer Journal, June 22, 1929, p. 1.
Sieling, J. H. "Baron Henry William Stiegel," Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society, Vol. 100, No. 1, pp. 12-15.
Thomas, George E., Michael J. Lewis and Jeffrey A. Cohen. Frank Furness -The Complete Works, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, N. Y., 1991.
United States Census Records, 1860, 1870, 1880.
Kurtz, Sarah M.; Zeller, Jean; Harris, Randolph J., Manheim Borough Historic District, Lancaster County, PA, nomination document, 1999, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C.
