Plymouth Meeting Historic District
Plymouth Meeting Historic District is a national historic district that straddles Plymouth and Whitemarsh Townships in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The adjacent Cold Point Historic District is north of it.
The district encompasses 200 acres (81 ha) and includes 56 contributing buildings in the historic core of Plymouth Meeting. Among these are the separately-listed Plymouth Friends Meetinghouse (1708); Hinterleiter House (c.1714); Livezey House and Store (c.1740–1788); Hovenden House, Barn and Abolition Hall (c.1795, 1856); and Plymouth Meeting Country Store and Post Office (c.1827).
The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
Plymouth Meeting House is the name of a village situated at the intersection of the Plymouth and Perkiomen turnpikes, on the township line. On this [Plymouth] side is the meeting house, school house and four houses; and in Whitemarsh two stores, a blacksmith and wheelwright shop, post office and twenty-four houses. The houses in this village are chiefly situated along the Perkiomen or Reading pike, nearly adjoining one another, and being of stone, neatly white washed, with shady yards in front, present to the stranger an agreeable appearance. In the basement of the Library building the Methodists hold worship. This is an ancient settlement, whose history dates back nearly to the arrival of William Penn, and is marked as a village on Lewis Evans' map of 1749. The post office was established here before 1827. In 1832 there were but ten houses here. — History of Montgomery County (1858).
Contributing properties (alphabetical by street)
Separately NRHP-listed properties are shaded in blue.
| Name | Image | Address | Built | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Maple Hill (see 3047 Spring Mill Road, below) | 
|
opposite 2070 Butler Pike | c.1794 | |
| Journey's End Thomas White House Plymouth Friends School |
|
2150 Butler Pike | c.1827 | |
|
3134 Butler Pike | |||
|
3136 Butler Pike | 1898 | ||
| Ellwood Jones House | 
|
3138 Butler Pike | 1871 – E. Jones | |
| Maulsby Barn and Abolition Hall (see Hovenden House, 1 E. Germantown Pike, also part of the property, below) | 
|
4006 Butler Pike | c.1795 1856 |
 His son-in-law George Corson built Abolition Hall, 1856. 1871 – Estate of George Corson Abolition Hall, left, c.1906. |
| Hiram Blee & Company Lime Kilns | 
|
opposite 4044 Butler Pike | Demolished by Danella Companies, Inc., Spring 2019, to make way for additional truck parking. | |
|
4066 Butler Pike | |||
| G. & W. H. Corson Company offices | 
|
opposite 4200 Butler Pike | ||
| Hovenden House Samuel Maulsby House Maulsby-Corson-Hovenden House |
|
1 E. Germantown Pike NE corner Germantown & Butler Pikes |
c.1795 | Built by Samuel Maulsby. 1871 – Estate of George Corson The rear ell incorporates the stone walls of an earlier house. |
| Barrett House | 
|
2 E. Germantown Pike SE corner Germantown & Butler Pikes |
1871 – Barrett | |
| Plymouth Meeting Country Store and Post Office | 
|
3-5 E. Germantown Pike | c.1826-1827 |  His son Jonathan served as Plymouth Meeting's first postmaster. 1871 – Jesse Hall Store/Plymouth Meeting P. O. Hall's Store circa 1900: |
| Jones-Williams House | 
|
4 E. Germantown Pike | c.1787 | 1871 – J. R. Ellis |
|
6 E. Germantown Pike | |||
| Jonathon Jones House | 
|
8 E. Germantown Pike | 1854 | 1871 – R. Jones |
| George Hitner Residence | 
|
12 E. Germantown Pike | 1871 – Mark Jones George Hitner was issued a license to operate an inn in 1778. | |
| Hitner Barn "The Barn at 14 East" |
|
14 E. Germantown Pike | c.1714 | |
| Killmer Dwelling | 
|
15 E. Germantown Pike | c.1838 | 1871 – P. Lukens |
| Joseph R. Ellis House | 
|
17 E. Germantown Pike | 1841 | 1871 – Jos. R. Ellis |
| Schlatter House | 
|
19 E. Germantown Pike (left half) | 1835 | 1871 – S. Sh. [Seth Schlatter?] |
| 21 E. Germantown Pike (right half) | 1871 – W. W. Sh. [William Schlatter?] | |||
| Joel Lare House | 
|
27 E. Germantown Pike | 1800 | 1871 – J. Lare Lare was a blacksmith and minister. The 1871 G. W. Hopkins Atlas shows a small building east of his house, possibly his blacksmith shop. |
| Isaac Garretson House | 
|
37 E. Germantown Pike | 1871 – I. Garretson | |
| George Hagy House | 
|
41 E. Germantown Pike | 1850 | 1871 – Geo. Hagy |
| Plymouth Meeting Evangelical Congregational Church | 
|
42 E. Germantown Pike | 1876-1883 | "An Evangelical meeting-house was commenced here in 1876, but not dedicated until July 22, 1883. It is a two-story stone edifice, with a capacity to seat five hundred persons." |
| Frederick R. Freas House | 
|
43-45 E. Germantown Pike | 1840 | 1871 – F. R. Freas |
| Annis Lee House | 
|
47 E. Germantown Pike | 1871 – Annis Lee | |
| Cairns [Carns?] House | 
|
49 E. Germantown Pike (left half) | 1841 | 1871 – P. Cairns |
| Henry Freas House | 51 E. Germantown Pike (right half) | 1871 – H. Freas | ||
| James Houston House | 
|
53 E. Germantown Pike | 1824 | 1871 – Jas. Houston |
| Willaman Residence | 
|
55 E. Germantown Pike | c.1844 | 1871 – Mrs. Cameron |
| Andrew Norney House Sabia House |
|
94 E. Germantown Pike | c.1849 | 1871 – I. Sands |
| John Knight House | 
|
107 E. Germantown Pike | c.1737 | 1871 – S. Rhoads |
| Elizabeth Williams House | 
|
113 E. Germantown Pike | ||
| 13 to Philadelphia Milepost | 
|
NW corner Germantown & Butler Pikes | ||
| Plymouth Friends Meetinghouse | 
|
SW corner Germantown & Butler Pikes | 1708 | 1871 – Friends Meeting House |
| Plymouth Friends Meeting Campus – Old School House | 
|
c.1866 2nd story 1900 |
1871 – School Ho. | |
| Plymouth Friends Meeting Campus – William Jeanes Memorial Library | 
|
1935 | Designed by Muhlenberg Brothers, architects. | |
| Leedom House Dr. Joseph Leedom Dr. Edwin C. Leedom |
|
2 W. Germantown Pike NW corner Germantown & Butler Pikes |
c.1803 |  Dr. Joseph Leedom established his practice in Plymouth Meeting in 1803. His son and grandson also became physicians. Leedom Springhouse: |
| R. Thompson House | 
|
111 W. Germantown Pike (on left) | 1870 | 1871 – R. Thompson |
| Archbishop Thomas Kennedy Birthplace Patrick Kennedy House |
|
113 W. Germantown Pike (on right) | c.1776 | 1871 – P. Kennedy |
| J. Hagy House | 
|
119 W. Germantown Pike | 1871 – J. Hagy | |
| Staley House | 
|
125-27 W. Germantown Pike | 1871 – S. Stally | |
| George Hagy & Brother Lime Kilns | 130 W. Germantown Pike | 1871 – Lime Kilns/Hagy & Bro. | ||
| George Rogers House | 
|
139 W. Germantown Pike | 1875-1876 | 1871 – Geo. Rogers |
| J. W. Ramsey Lime Kilns | 
|
200 W. Germantown Pike (at Chemical Road) | 1871 – Lime Kilns/J. W. Ramsey | |
| Thomas Livezey House and Store | 
|
225 W. Germantown Pike | c.1740 1788 |
1871 – Thos. Livezey/Store |
|
14 Marple Lane | |||
| Marple House | 20 Marple Lane | c.1840 | Features a summer kitchen and smokehouse | |
| Plymouth School House Williams School |
|
119 W. Meeting House Lane | 1837 | |
| Kirk Residence | 
|
127 W. Meeting House Lane | c.1848 | 1871 – School Ho. [This may be an error in the 1871 atlas.] |
| Linden Grove Bellfield Peter & Mary Dager House |
|
101 E. Ridge Pike NE corner Ridge Pike & Spring Mill Road |
1790 1810 1829-1832 |
|
| Dickinson House and Barn Hinterleiter House |
|
2130 Sierra Road 2181 Chemical Road |
1715 |  Headquarters of the Plymouth Meeting Historical Society |
| Albertson Farm House | 
|
2130 Sierra Road 2181 Chemical Road |
c.1810 |  |
| Jacob Deeves Residence | 
|
3033 Spring Mill Road | c.1790 | |
| Part of Maple Hill | 
|
3037 Spring Mill Road | 1811 | |
| Maple Hill Dr. Hiram Corson Residence |
|
3047 Spring Mill Road | 1833 |  in the Leedom House, at 2 W. Germantown Pike, before establishing a medical office here in his own house. Garden house and carriage house: |
|
3118 Spring Mill Road | |||
|
3127 Spring Mill Road | |||
|
3137 Spring Mill Road | Shown on the 1871 G. W. Hopkins Atlas. | ||
|
3138 Spring Mill Road | Shown on the 1871 G. W. Hopkins Atlas. | ||
| Samuel Livezey House Cook-Livezey House |
|
3141 Spring Mill Road | 1739 c.1788 |
 |
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Note: This includes Edward F. LaFond, Jr. (July 1970). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Plymouth Meeting Historic District" (PDF). Retrieved May 24, 2012.
- ^ William J. Buck, History of Montgomery County within the Schuylkill Valley (Norristown, PA: E. L. Acker, 1859), p. 81.
- ^ Journey's End data from the Philadelphia Architects and Buildings (PAB) project of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia
- ^ G. M. Hopkins & Co., Atlas of the County of Montgomery and the State of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: 1871), plate 27 inset.[1]
- ^ Maulsby-Albertson Family Papers, 1763-1884, RG 5/099, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College.
- ^ Jones-Williams House data from PAB
- ^ Jonathon Jones House data from PAB
- ^ Hitner Residence data from PAB
- ^ Theodore Weber Bean, History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Volume 2 (Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, 1884), p. 1143.
- ^ Killmer Dwelling data from PAB
- ^ Joseph R. Ellis House data from PAB
- ^ "Memorial of Joel Lare," The Friend, vol. 71, no. 31 (February 19, 1898), p. 242.
- ^ Plymouth Meeting Evangelical Congregational Church data from PAB
- ^ Theodore Weber Bean, History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Volume 2 (Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, 1884), p. 1148.
- ^ Willaman Residence data from PAB
- ^ Norney House data from PAB
- ^ John Knight House data from PAB
- ^ Elizabeth Williams House data from PAB
- ^ Plymouth Friends Meetinghouse data from PAB
- ^ Elwood Roberts, Plymouth Meeting: Its Establishment and the Settlement of the Township (Norristown, PA: Roberts Publishing Co., 1900), p. 74.
- ^ William Jeanes Memorial Library data from PAB
- ^ Leedom House data from PAB
- ^ Theodore Weber Bean, History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Volume 1 (Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, 1884), p. 647.
- ^ Dwelling data from PAB
- ^ Archbishop Thomas Kennedy Birthplace data from PAB
- ^ Marple House data from PAB
- ^ Plymouth School House data from PAB
- ^ Kirk Residence data from PAB
- ^ Linden Grove data from PAB
- ^ Kaitlyn Foti, "Montgomery County grant aids Plymouth Township in buying historical property," Pottstown Mercury, October 11, 2016.
- ^ Hinterleiter House data from PAB
- ^ Janet S. Klein, Dickinson/Albertson Farmstead of the Plymouth Meeting Historical Society (National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1987).
- ^ The Albertson Farm House, from Plymouth Meeting Historical Society.
- ^ Jacob Deeves Residence data from PAB
- ^ Maple Hill data from PAB
- ^ Nancy Corson Cresson,"Dr. Hiram Corson," Bulletin of the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, vol. 1, no. 3 (October 1937), p. 4.
- ^ Livezey House data from PAB
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