Amity Heritage Society

DOUGLASSVILLE The earliest reference we have to the name Douglassville is the Douglassville Post Office in 1828. This 1860 map gives us a unique look at Douglassville as it just starts to grow. This rare map has never been shown online before today. ... Douglassville was growing as a village and was starting to name its streets. The 1815 Reading and Perkiomen Turnpike is shown as Penn Street. The congregation of St Gabriel’s was worshiping in the 1801 Church and the parsonage they built the year before (1859) just makes it on to this map. You could cross the Schuylkill River two ways. Take Bridge Avenue and pay the toll on the covered bridge or take River Avenue and ford it. Merchant Henry McKenty has managed to buy all the land and buildings south of the turnpike (Penn Street) including the Douglassville Hotel and Store. Huizinga Messchert, Esquire, a Philadelphia attorney, married Mary Ann McKenty and began to purchase all the land north of Penn Street. This soon became Rose Lawn. Inside the triangle was the old proposed town of Warrensburg. Jacob Warren bought this land in 1805 and built a beautiful home across from the church. In 1815 he laid out nine lots fronting the north side of the new turnpike road and called it Warrensburg. Five years later and after selling only one lot, his proposed town along with his home had to be sold to pay his creditors. Doctor Michael Ludwig bought the bankrupt town lots including the Farmers and Drovers Hotel. He built his home in the middle and kept the rest of the land as his homestead for the next 25 years. Michael Ludwig died in 1858, just two years before this map was drawn. His three adult children inherited all of this land and decided to create their own town. They redrew the plan and created the new interior roads including Ludwig Avenue that we see on this map. TW (Theodore Wambach) Ludwig is one of these three children and it’s his initials that are used on the map. This Ludwig Plan is the framework of today’s Douglassville. Continuing east takes us over the Reading RR grade crossing behind the Douglassville Hotel and through Morlatton. The Mouns Jones House, Fulp House and White Horse Tavern were willed by George Douglass to his daughter Elizabeth Buckley. GB is her husband, George W Buckley. Douglassville and Morlatton have amazing history, some of the oldest in Berks County and we have a lot more to share in the coming weeks.

This barn was a part of the Flannery Mill property in Monocacy and served as the first home of the Monarch Fire Company. The Monarch Fire Company was formed in 1935 and John Flannery's barn would serve as the fire house for 13 years. The meetings were held across the street in the mill. A 1931 Ford truck was purchased and answered its first call on July 13, 1936. On the truck that day were driver John Flannery Jr. and Chief Charles Angstadt. In 1943, the Monarchs purch...ased a new Hahn fire truck and moved into a new fire house in 1948. While the mill is gone, that old barn can still be seen today at the intersection of Main Street and Monocacy Creek Road in Monocacy, serving as a reminder of Flannery's commitment to this community. Our second photo shows John A Flannery Jr. and his grandson John A Flannery IV with Patty the fire house dog posing in front of the original Monarch Fire company and truck.

This very early 1895 photo shows the mill house in Unionville that Henry Flannery bought from Jacob Kerlin in 1828. The house and mill were located just west of the Hidden River Brewery on 724. This would be the first home Henry Flannery would purchase in Berks County. The deed states his address as living in New Castle, Delaware, although we suspect he is already living at this house at the time of purchase since he marries Amelia Kerlin a year earlier. Amelia is the da...ughter of Jacob Kerlin, so he is purchasing this property from his Father-In-Law. A little deeper look into the property shows Jacob Kerlin receiving the property from his father, John Kerlin Junior, who at one time was an innkeeper and blacksmith in Douglassville. John Kerlin Junior buys the home from Joseph Millard in 1796. Obscured by trees, the mill house can still be seen sitting along Route 724 today. Two years later in 1830, Henry Flannery would purchase land and a tavern which is where he would eventually donate the land for the St. Paul’s Mission Church. Pictured in this photo are John A Flannery Senior, his wife Augusta (nee Mellon), their son John Junior and daughter Edna. Missing from the photo is another daughter, May. John A Flannery Senior would eventually move his family to Monocacy, purchasing the Monocacy Roller Mills in 1899. He would pass it on to his son John Junior who would run the mill until his retirement in the 1960s.

Henry Flannery and St. Paul's Mission Church Henry Flannery, a native of Tipperary, Ireland, was born in 1791. At 31 years of age he emigrated to the United States , settling in New Jersey and later Delaware. Arriving with nothing, he quickly gained employment working on the Schuylkill Canal, advancing through the ranks rather quickly. After proving to be a leader of men, he was given a contract to complete the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, which had resisted attempts b...Continue reading

Today, we are again visiting one of Amity Township’s hidden treasures. This is the 1785 Peter Maurer log house. You can find it along the old ‘Road to ExeterTown’ (Amity Park Rd). The photo below is of it’s original 236 year old log exterior. Today, it’s an interior wall of a beautiful bathroom addition. When Peter Maurer married Peter Weaver’s daughter, Magdalena, he was given a 16 acre tract of land from her father’s large farm. Peter Maurer was a ‘house carpenter’ an...d built this log house for Magdalena and himself in 1785. There’s more.That same year Magdalena’s uncle Jacob Weaver was laying out his 17 lots of Weavertown and Peter Maurer saw an opportunity. As soon as he finished his house, he bought Weavertown’s first recorded lot from Uncle Jacob. He paid 15 pounds for it, built a log house and sold it to Doctor Conrad Pellman from Earl Township for 95 pounds. Still more.This second log house in Weavertown is gone today but it’s imprint still remains. It’s in Bob Keay’s side yard and he just happened to grow up in it. (Bob now lives in the 2 1/2 story frame house next to it.) Bob’s first hand knowledge of Weavertown has been invaluable to the Amity Heritage Society for years and now with his room by room description of this log house and the imprint it left in his yard we are able to draw to scale a second Peter Maurer log house. Both of these pictures were taken exactly a year ago when we visited David and Debbi March. They were just finishing their two year long restoration project of this historic house and were preparing it for sale. David and Debbi March’s ‘Forever Home’ is an 1850 stone house with a stone summer kitchen in Earl Township that they have completely restored. For them restoring historic properties is a labor of love. How many times in just the last year have you heard somebody say ‘It’s too far gone or it’s not worth saving’? Well, you didn’t hear it from them.

This is the Daniel Lorah House. You can find it today next to the Arrowhead Golf Course. The photo below was taken from the practice green next to the first tee. Most of us know this as the Pribish house. The Pribish family lived here for 53 years. They bought it from Donald McLean in 1955 and sold it to Valerie McLean Keller in 2008. When Valerie bought this house, she brought it back into the Lorah family. She is a direct descendant of John Lorah who first owned this ...property in 1741. Our earliest records show this house was owned by Daniel Lorah (Valerie’s Gr-Gr-Gr Grandfather) in 1823 and was likely built by him and/or his father George before 1810. It would be one of Daniel’s four farms that he willed to his four sons in 1853. We met three of these sons in our Weavertown Store last week, with his son George K. Lorah Esq. on our cover page. In his will, Daniel gave this house and its barn across the road (now the 18th green) to his son Augustus.

Want to talk Amity History? Have an old photo you need identified? Curious to know about your old home? If you said yes to any of these, then come on out this Saturday and see us! The Boyertown Historical Society graciously invited us to set up at their "Tractor in the Park" event - Randy, Joe, and myself will be there all day - stop on out and say hello!

Strassburger’s Store This is a very early photo of Strassburger’s Store in Weavertown along with a now photo of this beautiful historic home. Weavertown was known as a village of craftsmen. They had a butcher, plasterer, cooper, tailor, and tanner to name a few. It was also a village with its own store which was there from the very beginning. It was built by store keeper David Gibson in 1787 on the third lot Jacob Weaver sold. Over the years this log store would be remo...Continue reading

The west end of Weavertown. In 1785, Jacob Weaver laid out his town in 17 lots. Each was 3/4 of an acre and all on the south side of the road. In time, each would have a log house. Last week, we looked at a photo of lot #1 on the east side of town showing a log house that has been removed. Today we are looking at lot #17 on the west side of town showing a log house that has been saved.... This house is unique because it does not face Weavertown Road. It was built to face The Road to ExeterTown (later called the Road to Baumstown) and today is known as Amity Park Road. One of its owners was wealthy Daniel Lorah. He spent a lifetime buying farms and houses around Weavertown. He bought this one in 1831. In the 1850 census, his total property value was the third highest in Amity Township. When he dies in 1853, he divides it all up between his nine kids. George K Lorah (in the buggy on our cover photo) is one of the nine. He receives the farm that is today’s Arrowhead Golf Course (blue course side). Daniel also provides for his daughters. George K’s sister Susanna who has married John Rothermel receives this log house and lot 17. In Daniel’s 1853 will (at a time when married women did not own property), his page long instructions to his executors are unheard of. It starts with I give and devise unto my daughter Susanna wife of John Rothermel. meaning this deed will be in her name. Daniel’s last line is a little more blunt. Should she sell he finishes with the purchase money shall be paid to my said daughter Susannah for her sole and separate use and benefit exclusive of any husband."

Here is a "modern" view of our photo from our Weavertown story yesterday - courtesy of google maps; Its not quite the correct angle, but gives you a good idea of the missing original homes today...

Pictured here, you are on the second oldest road in Amity Township and just coming into Weavertown from the east. Residents of Amity and Exeter petitioned the courts in Philadelphia for this road to be approved and laid out in 1725 but were denied five times. It was finally approved in 1736 and called the Tulpehocken Wagon Road. It became the main road from Reading to Philadelphia. Having just passed Geiger Road, the first house on the left is log underneath the wood sidin...g. It was built by aging carpenter Jacob Gerber in 1805 (the same Jacob Gerber who in 1807 built an addition on his Amityville home turning it into the Bull’s Head Tavern and retired as an inn keeper.) The Weavertown log home was bought by John Breidenbach and remained in the family for almost a hundred years and was often used as a cooper shop. It was removed in 1999 to improve visibility at the intersection. The second house on the left was the Farmers and Butchers Hotel (not to be confused with the Farmers and Drovers Hotel in Douglassville.) It was a combination of log and frame and already a tavern when Henry Yorgey bought it in 1850. In addition to a tavern, it was also the Brumfieldville Post Office for 30 years. Brumfieldville was the first post office in Amity Township with Douglassville being second. It was supplied by a stage coach that went from Reading to Boyertown. It was named after its first postmaster, Jesse Brumfield, and was opened in 1828 in his house on the NE corner of Weavertown and Limekiln Roads. When David Breidenbach became postmaster in 1840, the post office was moved up the road to his house which was located where the photographer of today’s photograph is standing. Henry Yorgey then became postmaster in 1851 and moved it across the road to his tavern where it remained for 30 years. Milton Schaeffer bought the David Breidenbach house, became the postmaster in 1881 and moved the post office back across the road for its last 25 years. After 78 years and four moves, the first post office in Amity Township was also the first to close when it was replaced by RFD ( Rural Free Delivery) out of Douglassville in 1906.

Did you know that between the years 1879 and 1930 Weavertown had a Sunday school chapel? The building was located on the western corner of Weavertown and Amity Park Roads. This rare early photo comes courtesy of Bruce McLean. The earliest references to the Weavertown Sunday School come from an 1869 article in the Reading Times. Officially known as the Weavertown Lutheran and Reformed Sunday School, they were linked with the Amityville Sunday School, sharing their chapel. ...In 1877 is was proposed that Weavertown should have its own chapel. On a 30 perch lot donated by William and Harriet Lorah, the building was ready for use by June of 1879. Between the years 1879 and 1920, the school was a hub of activity Articles over these years boast of numerous festivals, picnics, lectures, and musical gatherings being held on the grounds. Last names like Lorah, McLean, Rhoads, Brunner, Strassburger, Oxenford, and Geiger read like a list of who’s who in Weavertown helping to keep the school going, while also keeping a close association with the Amityville Church. Reverend Heilman was a frequent guest, dedicating a new organ in 1887. The school also met as to not interfere with church services. Weavertown would meet every Sunday at 1:30 after church service, or they would change their service time to 8:30 in the morning if St. Paul’s were to have an afternoon service instead of a morning service. Sadly, by 1930, the school fell into disrepair and had sat vacant for nearly 10 years. On October 25, 1930, committee members Chester R. Geiger and Harry M. Oxenford were given the duty of selling the property with proceeds to be given to the Amityville Church to reduce their debt incurred with rebuilding the church after the 1922 storm. The property was purchased for the sum of 615.00 by Weavertown entrepreneur W. S. S. Kutz. Winfield S. Schley Kutz carefully dismantled the frame structure, replacing it with a fine brick double home that still stands today.

A fitting view for this evening. Circa 1915 snowy view of the Amity House Hotel. Note the brick building in the background which housed the original Amity Historical Society. We can only wonder what was contained within those walls....

Who remembers this Amity Fire Truck?

Check back next Friday for an 1895 look at Amity Township's 10 one room schools!Check back next Friday for an 1895 look at Amity Township's 10 one room schools!

The Washington House, built in 1850 by William W. Rhoads.

This lovely winter view is our January photo in our 2021 calendar. Looking out from the Flannery home, you can barely make out the roof line of the mill on the left, and the Flannery barn almost straight ahead. The barn was the original home of the Monarch Fire Company. Anyone care to share any memories of Flannery's Mill?