George Taylor House (Catasauqua, Pennsylvania)
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George Taylor House
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Home built by George Taylor, a signer of the Declaration of Independence
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| Location | Lehigh & Poplar Sts., Catasauqua, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates | 40°38′52″N 75°27′59″W / 40.64778°N 75.46639°WCoordinates: 40°38′52″N 75°27′59″W / 40.64778°N 75.46639°W |
| Built | 1768 |
| Architectural style | Georgian |
| NRHP Reference # | 71000709 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | July 17, 1971 |
| Designated NHL | July 17, 1971 |
The George Taylor House, also known as George Taylor Mansion, was the home of George Taylor, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
The home, which is located in Catasauqua, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, was built by Taylor in 1768. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971. The Borough of Catasauqua purchased the house from the Lehigh County Historical Society in 2009 and today sponsors events and offers tours of the property at the borough's southwestern corner near the historic Lehigh River Canal.
The George Taylor House's first three owners were men of substantial means, who played notable roles locally and nationally in events leading up to the nation's founding.
George Taylor was born in northern Ireland in 1716 and immigrated to the American colonies in 1736. Starting as an Indentured laborer , he built a successful career as an ironmaster in Pennsylvania, first at Warwick Furnace and Coventry Forge in Chester County and later at Durham Furnace in Bucks County.
In 1767, Taylor purchased a 331-acre (1.34 km2) estate in Biery's Port (now part of Catasauqua) for £700. On this expansive property overlooking the Lehigh River, he built what was then one of the finest homes in the region, the house now named for him. Shortly after the Taylors moved in, his wife Ann died. Taylor continued to live here for the next six years, but in 1774, he returned to Durham to operate the ironworks under a new lease. Until that time, production at Durham Furnace had focused on domestic products, primarily plates for stoves and fireplaces but also cast iron pots and pans. With the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775, the mill became a major supplier of cannon shot to the Continental Army and Navy.
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