Historic Trappe

05/29/2026

Perkiomen Valley 250 recently attended Pennypacker Mill's Revolutionary War Weekend!

We will be participating in many more events this summer. Make sure to visit your local historic sites to see our reenactors!

For a full list of events, visit pv250.org/events

05/29/2026

We are thrilled to share a new addition to our collection: this incredible schrank (or wardrobe), dated 1776, which was recently gifted to us by the Germantown Historical Society, Philadelphia due to its original owners being a Pennsylvania German couple from Montgomery County.

This walnut schrank was made in 1776 for Sarah Wagner (1756–1833) and Abraham Yeakel (1752–1841), likely as a gift for their wedding on October 8, 1776. Sarah Wagner’s initials “S W” and the date “1776” are inlaid in the top. The arched doors and tall bracket feet of this schrank are distinctive to a group of furniture made in Montgomery County, consisting primarily of schranks and lift-lid chests.

The schrank will soon be going on display at our Center for Pennsylvania German Studies, where its 1776 date will be a perfect fit for our new exhibition “Window to Revolution: Pennsylvania Germans and the War for Independence.”

Stay tuned for another update once it is on view! Explore our galleries and historic houses this summer, open every weekend, or by appointment.

05/28/2026

The Flag Day Gala on June 14 will feature live music by the String faculty from Community Music School of Trappe! From Haydn to Mozart and beyond, you'll hear music that was played 250 years ago and is still being played today. They will offer a taste of the classical string quartet, with Melinda Rice and Kimberly Weberg, violin; Valerie Levicoff, viola; and Hsiao-Ming Chen, cello.

This event jointly benefits the Montgomery Bar Association' Bar Foundation, and Perkiomen Valley 250, a collaborative effort to celebrate the nation's Semiquincentennial anniversary. Sponsorships and tickets for the gala are available now!

Visit pv250.org/gala/ for more information

05/28/2026

Tour Guide Favorites: Peter Muhlenberg’s Pistols

Tour Guide Eoin takes you through the history of his favorite objects in the new exhibit, “Window to Revolution: Pennsylvania Germans and the War for Independence,” now on display at the Dewees Tavern. Open every weekend, or by appointment.

Visit HistoricTrappe.org for more information

05/27/2026

The special 250th edition of A Primitive Place Magazine includes an article on Historic Trappe!

Inside our Special Edition: 250 Years of Independence:

Just seven miles from Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, the town of Trappe was founded in 1717. During the American Revolution, this area was frequently overrun by British and American soldiers due to its strategic location along a main road between Philadelphia and the surrounding countryside. In the fall of 1777, as the British army occupied Philadelphia, Trappe’s residents witnessed the mass evacuation of over 13,000 residents and sheltered many of them. Historic Trappe, which owns five historic properties throughout the town, has launched a new initiative, “Refugees in the Parlor,” to interpret life on the home front during the American Revolution. Each room of the Muhlenberg House has been reimagined to reflect how domestic spaces were transformed by wartime. Built c. 1750, the Muhlenberg House is one of the most authentic house museums in the area, with many original artifacts, including furniture, portraits, silver, and textiles. We also have Henry Muhlenberg's daily journals, which provide a detailed account of the family’s experience. This rare combination enables us to peel back the curtain of history and travel back in time to America’s founding era.

Get a copy at https://aprimitiveplacemagazine.com/collections/special-editions. Expedite your magazine by getting 2+ copies. This does include new summer subscriptions.

05/27/2026

Join us on Saturday, June 6, from 2 to 4 pm for a relaxed summer afternoon at the newly restored Speaker’s House. Guests are invited to savor a selection of light hors d’oeuvres and sweets, accompanied by refreshing iced tea and lemonade.

Take time to stroll through the kitchen garden and join a guided tour of the Speaker’s House, where you’ll learn about the 25 years of careful restoration that brought it back to life. Classic lawn games will be set out for friendly competition and casual fun.

Location: The Speaker’s House, 151 W. Main St. Trappe, PA.
Parking is at St. Luke’s Church, 200 W. Main St. Trappe, PA

Cost: $25 per person. Advanced registration required.
To buy tickets visit https://historictrappe.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/historictrappe/eventRegistration.jsp?event=559& or click the link in our bio.

05/26/2026

Historic Trappe had a table at South Elementary’s Colonial Fair last weekend! Meg, our educational programs manager, taught kids all there is to know about the herb lavender, including its medicinal properties and how to make sachets.

Interested in everyday life in early America? Make sure to attend our Living History Saturdays every weekend from June 13 to September 5 at the Speaker’s House!

Visit HistoricTrappe.org for more information.

05/26/2026

Last week’s fraktur bookplate workshop was a hit! We loved seeing these beautiful pieces come together. Missed out on the fun? Our next fraktur workshop is August 22, but don’t worry, we have events every weekend this summer to keep you busy!

Visit HistoricTrappe.org to plan your trip!

05/25/2026

Pictured here is assistant curator Sarah Bowen in the process of translating this delicate fraktur bookplate in our collection.

This bookplate was made by Mennonite fraktur artist David Kulp (1777-1834) while he was teaching at the Deep Run schoolhouse in Bedminster Township, Bucks County. Kulp taught at multiple schools in Bucks County between 1801-1817, including Deep Run, Bedminster, Perkasie, and Plumstead. Kulp was partially influenced by his fellow fraktur artist and schoolteacher, Johann Adam Eyer (1755-1837), who taught Kulp at the Deep Run schoolhouse between 1782-86. Alongside his role as a schoolmaster, Kulp also worked as a scrivener and township auditor in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

This example of Kulp’s fraktur was made for Elisabeth Overholtzer on November 16, 1814, and was originally in her copy of the New Testament. It features a large blooming tulip between two birds and has an intricate geometric border. Elisabeth was the daughter of Henry Overholt (1777-1826) and Mary Nash (1776-1833). She married Daniel K. Gross (1784-1875), who was a deacon in the Doylestown Mennonite congregation.

This cataloguing project is funded by an Institute of Museum and Library Services. Check our online database as more pieces are added!

Visit HistoricTrappe.org for more details.

05/25/2026

In honor of Memorial day, we would like to share a special edition of our series "From the Journals of Henry Muhlenberg." On February 19, 1776, Muhlenberg attended the memorial service of General Richard Montgomery, detailing the care and respect shown to the fallen soldier:

“The memorial service for General Montgomery, who was killed before Quebec, was conducted solemnly with a procession to the new Reformed church, where the provost, Dr. Smith, delivered an address. The procession was arranged as follows: (a) The students of the English Academy. (b) The preachers of all denominations in the city and the teachers of all faculties in the Academy. (c) The Congress of the united provinces. (d) The provincial Assembly. (e) The corporation of the city, i.e. the mayor, etc. (f) The committees of the city and its suburbs. (g) The battalions of the associated city militia, which marched along either side in order that the countless throngs of people might not crush the procession. All the bells in and around the city were tolled in token of mourning… The music was quite well adapted to setting forth the circumstances of war. The organ was obstinate and adhered to its wonted tone, without yielding or adapting itself to the time and circumstance. The bugles were proud and haughty and, with their three-four time, lorded it over the organ. The violins sounded like the imperial contingents marching against the Turks. The vocalists did not know to which party they ought to hold; they divided, therefore, so that some joined the organ, others the bugles, and still others the violins, until the drums finally drowned out all of them and brought the solemnities to a close.”

This excerpt is from “The Journals of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, Volume 2,” translated by Theodore G. Tappert and John W. Doberstein, 1945. This and additional volumes are available for research at Historic Trappe’s Center for Pennsylvania German Studies in the Dewees Tavern, and the original handwritten journals are preserved by the Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia.

05/24/2026

Our kitchen garden at the Speaker’s House is beginning to bloom! We grow primarily heirloom vegetables and herbs, which are used in our Hearth Cooking Workshops, the next of which is on Saturday, May 30.

Want to see the garden up close? Join us on Saturday, June 6, from 2 to 4 pm for a relaxed summer afternoon at the newly restored Speaker’s House. Guests are invited to savor a selection of light hors d’oeuvres and sweets, accompanied by refreshing iced tea and lemonade.

Take time to stroll through the kitchen garden and join a guided tour of the Speaker’s House, where you’ll learn about the 25 years of careful restoration that brought it back to life. Classic lawn games will be set out for friendly competition and casual fun.

Location: The Speaker’s House, 151 W. Main St. Trappe, PA.
Parking is at St. Luke’s Church, 200 W. Main St. Trappe, PA

Cost: $25 per person. Advanced registration required.
To buy tickets visit https://historictrappe.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/historictrappe/eventRegistration.jsp?event=559& or click the link in our bio.