Pennypacker Mills

10/17/2026

Enjoy a free afternoon of old-fashioned fall fun as kids make crafts, paint pumpkins, shuck corn, and press apples into c***r. The whole family is welcome to play games, complete a scavenger hunt, and take a hayride around the meadow. Fun for all ages!

**Please note that the historic mansion will be CLOSED all day.

❗ Free event!
📆 October 24th, 2026 from 12pm-4pm
📍 5 Haldeman Road, Schwenksville

10/15/2026

October 15 marks National Fossil Day, an occasion dedicated to highlighting the scientific and educational importance of fossils. Pictured here is a remarkable fossil piece of red shale with a clear shell attached. This fossil was gifted to Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker by R.P. Sharples, the editor of the Phoenixville Star in the 1880s.
This fossil, along with others, was unearthed during the construction of a railroad tunnel in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. The fossils found date back to the Late Triassic period, approximately 200 to 230 million years ago. As the Black Rock and Fairview Tunnels were carved through the Lockatong Formation, a Late Triassic geological unit, they revealed a region that was once a vast system of rift valley lakes and tropical mudflats.
The formation's mudstone, siltstone, shale, sandstone, carbonate rock, and hard massive argillite, provided an ideal environment for preserving various prehistoric life. These fossils offer invaluable insights into the ancient ecosystems that once inhabited the Phoenixville area.

10/14/2026

Join Pennypacker Mills for our annual All Hallows Eve Fall Festival! The whole family is welcome to play games, complete a scavenger hunt, and take a hayride around the meadow. This free event provides lots of old-fashioned fall fun where kids can make crafts, shuck corn, press apples into c***r, and paint pumpkins.

*Please note that the historic mansion will be CLOSED all day.

❗ Free event!
📆 October 24th, 2026 from 12pm-4pm
📍 5 Haldeman Road, Schwenksville

10/09/2026

World Egg Day, celebrated on the second Friday of October, highlights eggs as an affordable and sustainable food source. Historically, eggs have been integral to human diets, with consumption dating back millions of years and involving various bird species. European colonists in America introduced chicken eggs, embedding them in the American diet due to their nutritional value, affordability, and simplicity in preparation. By the mid-1800s, selective breeding for egg production began, and the Industrial Revolution further cemented eggs as a dietary staple. By the early 1900s, eggs were a breakfast classic in America. A metal egg poacher from the Pennypacker family, dating back to the 1900s, exemplifies this era, featuring a design to submerge multiple eggs in simmering water with clever mechanical lifts or covered pans.

10/07/2026

Drop in to Pennypacker Mills anytime from noon to 4pm on October 24th for our All Hallows Eve Fall Festival with pumpkin painting, crafts, and apple c***r making for kids, and games, a scavenger hunt, and hayrides for the whole family! Costumes are welcome!

*Please note that the historic mansion will be CLOSED all day.

❗ Free event!
📆 October 24th, 2026 from 12pm-4pm
📍 5 Haldeman Road, Schwenksville

10/06/2026

? Pennsylvania's new State Capitol, located on Third Street between North and Walnut streets in Harrisburg, was dedicated on Oct. 4, 1906. Its predecessor had been destroyed by fire in 1897. The dedication ceremonies were impressive. Gov. Samuel W. Pennypacker dedicated the Capitol and Theodore Roosevelt gave the formal address. Roosevelt referred to the new capitol as the "handsomest building I ever saw." The State preserves this rendering of the State Capitol building.

10/06/2026

October 6 marks National German American Day in the United States, a celebration of the rich German heritage that many Americans share. This special day commemorates the arrival of 13 German Mennonite families from Krefeld, who landed in Philadelphia on October 6, 1683, and established the first German settlement in the original thirteen colonies, aptly named Germantown.
Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker, a proud German American, in his autobiography recalls the two hundredth-anniversary celebration in 1883, where he addressed a large audience at the Academy of Music, an event so significant that his speech was translated into German and republished in Hamburg.
A commemorative coin from that day further highlights the occasion, featuring a silver design with an eagle holding a federal shield and flag, inscribed with "GERMAN AMERICAN BI-CENTENNIAL PHILADELPHIA OCTOBER 6, 1883" around its edge.

10/03/2026

Join us today at 4pm for this year’s last installment of our Porch Performance Series where an actor-historian will portray the life and work of Edgar Allan Poe. Bring a chair or blanket to sit on at this outdoor performance of all ages. This event is sponsored by the Friends of Pennypacker Mills.

10/02/2026

Join us at Pennypacker Mills for our free All Hallows Eve Fall Festival! Kids can make crafts, paint pumpkins, shuck corn, and press apples into c***r. The whole family is welcome to play games, complete a scavenger hunt, and take a hayride around the meadow. Fun for the whole family!

**Please note that the historic mansion will be CLOSED all day.

❗ Free event!
📆 October 24, 2026 from 12pm-4pm
📍 5 Haldeman Road, Schwenksville

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10/01/2026

During the Victorian era, hair carried deep social and sentimental significance. Women grew their hair long, with young girls wearing it loose as a symbol of youth, while pinning it up marked womanhood. Hair was exchanged as keepsakes among friends, family, and lovers, with schoolgirls keeping snippets in scrapbooks. Hair jewelry emerged as a way to remember loved ones, influenced by Queen Victoria, who popularized it after receiving a bracelet with a lock of her first child’s hair from Prince Albert. Hair jewelry, often seen as both sentimental and a status symbol, featured mourning motifs or friendship symbols, crafted into intricate designs set in precious metals. Incidentally, October 1st is National Hair Day—a perfect time to reflect on the historical and cultural significance of hair. Pictured here is a Watch chain, made of hair of Virginia Broomall, the wife of Samuel W. Pennypacker. The hair is brown and coiled in a spiral design. Engraved on center is "N.B. Broomall".