Author: historictrappe

724 W. Main Street
Located across from Augustus Lutheran Church, the Lamb Tavern was built about 1800. One of the first proprietors was Cornelius Tyson Sr. In 1836, the building was bought by schoolmaster and future U.S. congressman Jacob Fry Jr. (known as Honest Jacob) and described in the deed as a “certain Tavern stand, Sign of the Golden Lamb.” Private

702 and 704 W. Main Street
The three-story stone house was built for Judge Joseph
Royer and his family in the early 1800s; the two-story wing
served as a general store and post office. Private

595 W. Main Street
Built on land once owned by John Nicholas Cressman, a
German immigrant and early Trappe settler, the Trappe Hotel
was an active tavern, polling place, and stagecoach stop
during the 1800s. For many years it was run by Jacob
Heebner. Private

550 W. Main Street
Built about 1854, this three-story brick building was the
second location of the Washington Hall Collegiate Institute
(est. 1830 as the Trappe Boarding School).  Henry Prizer taught the original school (see 360 W. Main). Private

538 W. Main Street
Born and educated in Trappe, E. G. Brownback married Mary
Beaver in 1895. He took over his father-in-law John Beaver’s
mercantile business and operated it in this building. Private

532 W. Main Street
Home of John K. Beaver, a tailor by trade, who later established
the Beaver & Shellenberger mercantile firm, which
operated in Skippack and later Trappe. In 1895, the Trappe
store at 538 W. Main was taken over by Beaver’s son-in-law,
E. G. Brownback. Private

525 W. Main Street
Built in 1922 as a school, this building now serves as the borough hall. Paintings of local historic sites by artist Julie Longacre are displayed in the council room. Behind the building is a tot-lot, picnic pavilion, and multipurpose play area. Open to the public

504 W. Main Street
Built for Abraham Treichler, a blacksmith, about 1852.
Private

439 W. Main Street
Built in the mid-1800s, this brick house stands on a property
acquired by Widow Sarah Gordon in 1829. She was the
daughter of Bernard Streeper and Sarah Dewees; after her
death in 1839, the property passed to her son William
Gordon, a stonemason. Private

438 W. Main Street
This two-story brick house was built about 1848 for Dr.
Thomas Davis, a prominent physician in Montgomery
County. It was the first house lot subdivided from the
Fountain Inn tract (now the Trappe Tavern). Later owners
include Dr. Charles Dickensheid and Mrs. Philip Bechtel. The
exterior of the house remains in nearly original condition
and is a fine example of mid-1800s architecture. Private

418 W. Main Street
Originally known as the Fountain Inn, this building has served
as a tavern since it was built in the late 1700s. A “Big Spring”
nearby provided water via underground wooden pipes to a
distillery and the inn, which had three fountain pumps in the
yard for watering thirsty horses. Traces of the spring remain
in the pond located at Rambo Park. By 1823, the inn’s barn,
sheds, and stables could accommodate up to 75 wagons and
150 horses. The Mingo Express Horse Company was founded
here in 1836 and continues to meet annually. Since 1989, the
tavern has served as a restaurant and bar. Open to the public

417 W. Main Street
Built about 1830, this house was the residence of George
Hagey, a renowned clockmaker, from 1832 to 1844. A native
of nearby Lower Salford Township, George Hagey was the
second generation of his family to make clocks. Private

378 W. Main Street
Built for Henry Kratz in the mid-1800s, this house is flanked
by a smaller building to the east that once served as a post
office. Private

360 W. Main Street
Built in the mid-1700s and used as a tavern known as the
Duke of Cumberland, this building was acquired in 1829 by
schoolmaster Henry Prizer, remodeled, and used as a school
prior to the construction of Washington Hall about 1854 (see
550 W. Main). A detached stone bake house stands behind
the main building. Private

314 W. Main Street
Several generations of the Fry family were carpenters and
cabinetmakers, beginning with Jacob Fry Sr. He was
succeeded in the trade by his son John, who built this house
about 1832 on the site of Jacob’s house. Private

224 W. Main Street
Built in the mid-1800s for Enos Lewis and his wife, Margaret
Dewees. Private

219 W. Main Street
Built in 1845 by Daniel Fry, this structure served as a general
store and dwelling house. The stone threshold for the store
entrance is inscribed “DRY GOODS.” Private

212 W. Main Street
This elegant two-story brick home was built in the
mid-1800s. During the 1870s, it was owned by Philip
Williard, a noted civic leader who was trained as a Reformed
Church minister. He married Anna Prizer, daughter of
Catharine Dewees and Henry Prizer (founder of Washington
Hall; see 550 W. Main). Private

202 W. Main Street
Founded in 1742, St. Luke’s congregation initially worshipped
in a log church located across the street in the present-day
cemetery. A stone building replaced it on the same site in
1835. The present church was erected in 1874 under the
leadership of Rev. John H. A. Bomberger, founder of Ursinus
College and a Reformed Church minister. Open to the public

192 W. Main Street
Built in 1849 by the Providence Masonic Lodge, this building
was sold in 1865 to Warren Lodge. In 1913, it became the
headquarters of Keystone Grange #2, organized in 1873 and
the second oldest grange in Pennsylvania. Monthly meetings
are held on the third Wednesday at 7 p.m. Open to the public

12 and 14 W. Main Street
Built in the early 1800s, this stone dwelling was the first toll
gate house in Trappe. Toll gates were permitted every five
miles along the Philadelphia and Reading Turnpike. In the
1820s, John Todd was the local toll gate keeper. Private

Wismer Barn, 1992. Construction began on the Wismers’ new barn in early 1932, with a plan based on a mid-Western design. Measuring 196 feet long and 38 feet deep, the new barn had stanchions for 100 cows, complete with automatic waterers, and could store up to 400 tons of hay in the upper level. With pointed arches rising 45 feet above the ground, the new barn was a technologically advanced agricultural superstructure. Like its predecessor, it too was lost in a fire, this time due to a spark from a hay mowing operation on June 10, 1997. The 150-head herd of cattle were moved twenty miles away to East Greenville while a new barn was built in just over three months. (Courtesy of Matthew G. Wismer.)

930 E. Main Street
Built about 1835 for Rev. Abraham Hunsicker, a Mennonite
bishop and the founder of Freeland Seminary, this dwelling
contains elements of an earlier stone house built for
Christian Schrack, son of Trappe’s founder and a tanner by
trade. Private

801 E. Main Street
Owned by Andrew Todd, who in 1832 donated land on which
a one-room stone schoolhouse—known as Todd’s school
School—was built (not extant) in place of an earlier log
schoolhouse. From 1844 to 1874, it was the Freeland Public
School. One of the oldest houses in Collegeville, this dwelling
was later owned by Dr. James Hamer. It is now known as
Isenberg Hall, after Rev. J.M.S. Isenberg, who graduated from
Ursinus in 1893 and was vice-president of the college until
1930. A nearby carved stone mile marker notes the distance
as 24 miles to Philadelphia and 28 miles to Reading. Private

702 E. Main Street
Former home of Ursinus professor Franklin I. Sheeder Jr.,
who served as registrar of the college from 1932 to 1946,
and his wife, Josephine Xander (both Ursinus graduates).
Lynnewood was acquired by the college in 1926 for women’s
housing. Private

701 E. Main Street
Acquired by Ursinus in 1964 and named after George Leslie
Omwake (class of 1898), president of the college from 1912
to 1936. Private

646 E. Main Street
This three-story brick house was built in the mid-1800s as a
private residence; it was acquired by Ursinus in 1967 and
named after Dr. Philip Schaff, a celebrated German Reformed
theologian and church historian in the 1800s. Private

640 E. Main Street
Acquired by Ursinus in 1967, this building was named after a
previous Olevian Hall that was razed to make way for the
construction of Pfahler Hall in 1931. Both were named after
Caspar Olevian, a German Reformed theologian. Private

620 E. Main Street
Built during the mid-1800s as a private residence, Zwingli
Hall retains much of its original charm, including a large front
porch. It is named after Ulrich Zwingli, a Swiss theologian
and Reformation leader. Private

612 E. Main Street
Purchased in 1937 from A. D. Fetterolf by the Ursinus
Women’s Club, Duryea Hall was named ten years later in
honor of Rhea Duryea Johnson, who graduated from Ursinus
in 1908 and later became the college’s first female board
member. Private

601 E. Main Street
Initially known as the Science Building, Pfahler Hall was
renamed in 1942 after Dr. George E. Pfahler, a pioneer in the
field of radiology. Here Dr. John W. Mauchly, professor of
physics from 1933 to 1941, began research that would lead
him to co-invent the ENIAC, the first electronic generalpurpose
computer. The observatory atop the building was
constructed in the 1950s, using scrap and war surplus
material, to house a telescope loaned by the Franklin
Institute. Private

601 E. Main Street
Opened in 1971, Myrin Library houses more than 420,000
books and offers onsite and remote access to numerous
print, microform, and electronic periodical titles. It is also
home to the Ursinusiana collection, the Pennsylvania Folklife
Society archives, and many works of art made by Ursinus
students. Open to the public

600 E. Main Street
Built in 1876 for Dr. John H. A. Bomberger, founder and first
president of Ursinus College, this structure was originally
known as Zwinglihof after the Swiss theologian and Reformation
leader Ulrich Zwingli. Dr. Bomberger lived here until his
death in 1890, after which it became Ursinus property. In
1909, it became a women’s dormitory. Private

568 E. Main Street
Built in the late 1800s as a private residence, Hobson
Hall’s three-story tower, asymmetrical façade, and
multiple porches exemplify the Queen Anne revival
style that was popular in America from about 1880 to
1910. It was acquired by Ursinus from Edward and
Mabel (Hobson) Fretz in 1944. Private

554 E. Main Street
This three-story stone farmhouse was built during the
1800s by William Tennent Todd, a spinning wheel
maker; it was the first residence of Rev. John H. A.
Bomberger, founding president of Ursinus College.
From 1867 to 1872, it was the home of Captain Henry
H. Fetterolf, who served in the Civil War. The house was
later donated to the college by Henry’s daughter,
Harriet “Hattie” Fetterolf. Private

532 E. Main Street
Founded in 1854 and incorporated the following year, Trinity
Reformed U.C.C. has a long history of welcoming members of
the community for worship. The church played a prominent
role in the abolition movement, and 27 Civil War veterans are
buried in the cemetery. Every pastor to this day has been an
Ursinus graduate. Until Bomberger Hall was completed in
1892, Trinity hosted the college’s assemblies, commencement,
and religion classes. In 1922, an addition was built and
named after the church’s first pastor, Dr. Joseph Hendricks.
Known as the Hendricks Building, it houses community
gatherings and served as the town’s first movie theater.
Open to the public

513 E. Main Street
Keigwin Hall was purchased by Ursinus in 1963 and named
after Rev. Albert Edwin Keigwin, who served as president of
the college from 1907 to 1912. Private

512 E. Main Street
Acquired by Ursinus in 1923, Maples was first used as a
women’s dormitory. It was the birthplace and childhood
home of Dr. Calvin D. Yost Jr., who wrote the first history of
the college. Private

Glenwood Avenue
This monument marks the site of the Pennsylvania Female
College, founded in 1851 by J. Warren Sunderland as the
Montgomery Female Seminary and chartered by the state
legislature in 1853. A four-year liberal arts college, it closed
in 1880. During its 30-year tenure, more than 1,000 young
women were educated there. The seminary building once
stood at the end of Glenwood Avenue on a bluff overlooking
the Perkiomen Creek. Open to the public

491 E. Main Street
Home to borough offices and the Collegeville Municipal Building. Open to the public

476 E. Main Street
A nonprofit organization, the Collegeville Economic Development Corporation (CEDC) is striving to make Collegeville a great place to live and do business. Many special events and programs are organized by the CEDC throughout the year. Open to the public

409 E. Main Street
Built by Francis J. Clamer, a German immigrant and metallurgist,
in 1903, Clamer Hall was given to Ursinus by Dr. Guillam
H. Clamer in 1953. Private

351 E. Main Street
Serving Perkiomen Valley businesses and the community since 1957. Open to the public

324 E. Main Street
Warren Lodge #310 is home to the Collegeville-area Free and
Accepted Masons, founded in 1857. Meetings have been
held in this building since it was erected in 1913. Private

1 E. Main Street
According to local tradition, the oldest portion of this
building was erected in 1701 for Edward Lane. By 1798, the
inn consisted of a two-story stone building measuring 33 x
25 feet and a one-story stone kitchen of 30 x 20 feet. It was
further expanded in the 1800s and became a fashionable
hotel and summer resort due to its location along the
Perkiomen Creek. Listed on the National Register of Historic
Places in 1985, until recently it was the oldest hotel in
continuous operation in the country. The nearby Perkiomen
Bridge was completed in 1799 and is one of the oldest stone
arch bridges still in use in the United States. Private

29 E. First Avenue. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on November 11, 1938, for a new Collegeville-Trappe High School to be built under the auspices of the federal government’s Public Works Administration. The above postcard depicts the school as built; in 1953 an addition was built on the right side to match the colonial revival style of the original building, as seen in the postcard below. Howard B. Keyser, a 1905 graduate of the Collegeville High School and 1910 Ursinus graduate, was the supervising principal of the newly consolidated school district. The project architect was W. Marshall Hughes of Reading, Pennsylvania, and the general contractor was Warren B. Zern of Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Most of the land for the new school was provided by Ursinus College in a bargain sale in which the former Frederick Muhlenberg property, at 151 W. Main Street, was subdivided. The former school is currently being converted into condominiums. (Courtesy of Jerry A. Chiccarine.)