Waverly 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 Waverly Historic District is a historic district centered on Academy Street and Abington Road in Abington, Lackawanna County. It was listed in the National Register in 2004, with 116 contributing buildings in styles from Federal and Greek Revival to Colonial Revival.

Why it's listed

The district was listed under criterion C, with local-level significance in architecture; the nomination gives its period of significance as c. 1828 to 1940, reflecting construction that began in 1828.

Physical character

Its buildings are mostly frame with weatherboard siding, though some are brick, stone or stucco on sandstone or brick foundations, with features such as a temple-form side-passage house, gambrel and gabled roofs, brick chimneys, dry stone walls, stone hitching posts and bluestone sidewalks. Architect George M. D. Lewis and builder Ephraim Ross are named for work in the district. One building was converted into a residence in 1926, another was remodeled to its present look in the 1920s, and a 2000 fire destroyed one home at Abington Road and Academy Street.

Historical context

Abington Township was established in 1806, and a post office known as Old Abington opened in 1811. The Methodist Episcopal Church was built in 1842, the First Baptist Church in 1849, and the Presbyterian Church in 1871. The L & W Railroad opened through the district in 1850, and buildings were cleared in 1919 for the Waverly Community House, which opened in 1920.