The Jacobsburg National Historic District lies almost entirely within the boundaries of the Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center. The district is on the National Register of Historic Places and its story is intertwined throughout the early development and growth of our nation. The history of Jacobsburg focuses on the Henry family and their small arms industry; an industry that played a key role in the American Industrial Revolution.

The first of the Henry gunmakers, William Henry I, opened his gun factory in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1750. He became Armorer for the Braddock Campaign of 1755 and for the Forbes Expedition of 1758. William Henry II established a small gunmaking shop in Christian Springs near Nazareth in 1778. In 1792, William Henry II purchased land at Jacobsburg from the heirs of Jacob Hubler, who in 1740 founded the community from which Jacobsburg draws its name. That same year, William Henry II built a gun manufactory at Jacobsburg. A few years later, he erected a forge (bloomery) to supply the gun factory with iron to manufacture guns. The Henry firearm became the most prominent weapon of the western frontier due to its durability, accuracy and relatively low cost.

Jacobsburg was dedicated as an environmental education center in October, 1985, and is one of four environmental education centers operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of State Parks. Through its environmental education programming at centers and state parks, the Department aims to help develop a citizenry that is aware of and concerned about the environment and its problems, and also has the knowledge, attitude, motivation, commitment and skills to work individually and collectively toward solutions of current problems and the prevention of new ones.