Mount Union borough
The Houses in Kistler Have Names
Not numbers. Names. They are written on John Nolen's own plan for the town, and the federal survey copied them down: Double Valley Farm House, Double Mountain House, Double Capri Villa, Georgian Cottage, Vermont Farm House, and Norman Cottage.
The architects picked those old fashioned forms on purpose. They believed the character of a building could shape the character of the people living inside it, and the families coming to Kistler were going to be a mix of native born Americans, immigrants and African Americans who had never been asked to live the way the company had in mind.
This one is No. 43 Poplar Street, a Vermont Farm House. Twenty seven of them were built and all but one were still standing when the surveyors counted. The caption notes this one still had its original porch roof and its original siding.
Sources
- Shedd 1991, Mount Union Refractories: Company town of Kistler
- HABS PA-5973 pp.27-28
- LOC caption pa2824.photos.038913p
Checked 2026-09-07 · Historic Mount Union collection
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