Berkley Historic District

The story

Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com

The Berkley Historic District is a historic district along Snyder Road between PA 61 and Berkley Road in Ontelaunee, Berks County, listed in the National Register in 2002. The district's oldest dated building was built in 1758, and its architecture includes Georgian and Federal style buildings.

Why it's listed

It was listed under criteria A and C, with local-level significance in architecture and social history. The nomination gives its period of significance as about 1758 to 1856, anchored by the farmstead's construction in 1758 and the house's expansion in 1856.

Physical character

The house has a stone foundation, stone and wood walls, and a metal and asphalt-shingle roof, with a center hall plan and dentil cornice moldings. A five-bay facade was added around 1830, and an 1856 expansion added nine rooms, a two-story east wing, and a larger basement; a porch followed around 1880. A stone summer kitchen and cellar stand near a separate stone smokehouse; the barn's gambrel roof, Liegender Stuhle framing, and forebay, extended around 1850, reflect its Pennsylvania standard form.

Historical context

Francis Parvin arrived in Pennsylvania in 1729, and the Parvin family began operating a mill on the property around 1760, keeping the homestead in the family from 1732 to 1998. The district also reflects the Centre Turnpike, completed from Reading to Pottsville in 1812, and a distillery that operated on the property from 1880 until it burned in 1899.