The Robesonia Furnace Historic District, also known as the Reading Furnace and the Robesonia Iron Co. Ltd., is an historic, American

iron plantation Iron plantations were rural localities emergent in the late-18th century and predominant in the early-19th century that specialized in the production of pig iron and bar iron from crude iron ore. Such plantations derive their name from two sour ...

and national

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

that is located in Robesonia,

Berks County, Pennsylvania Berks County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the coun ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1991.

History and architectural features

This district encompasses thirty-five contributing buildings and two contributing sites. They include a series of one-and-one-half-story, single workers' houses that were built circa 1825, a set of stone, frame and slag block duplexes that were built circa 1845, 1890 and 1910, and

bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is typically single or one and a half storey, if a smaller upper storey exists it is frequently set in the roof and Roof window, windows that come out from the roof, and may be surrounded by wide ve ...

s that were built roughly between 1913 and 1915. Other notable buildings are the Second Empire-style George Taylor Mansion (c. 1880), a

creamery A creamery or cheese factory is a place where milk and cream are processed and where butter and cheese is produced. Cream is separated from whole milk; pasteurization is done to the skimmed milk and cream separately. Whole milk for sale has ...

building, a shed with a

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

, a log-and-stone furnace boarding house (c. 1800), a miller's house (c. 1820), a

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire apparatus, fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equ ...

(c. 1910), a Georgian-style ironmaster's mansion that is also known as Ege Mansion (c. 1807), and an

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

-style furnace office. The contributing sites are the industrial remains of the Robesonia Furnace, which was established in 1794 by George Ege and then demolished in 1927 after its acquisition by

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Until its closure in 2003, it was one of the world's largest steel-producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its success ...

. ''Note:'' This includes This complex was listed on the

in 1991.

References

External links

Friends of the Robesonia Furnace website
{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Georgian architecture in Pennsylvania Italianate architecture in Pennsylvania Second Empire architecture in Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1807 Historic districts in Berks County, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Berks County, Pennsylvania