History Trail

The Perkiomen Bridge was completed in 1799 and is one of the oldest stone arch bridges still in use in the United States.

1 E. Main StreetAccording 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.

324 E. Main StreetWarren 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

409 E. Main StreetBuilt 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

Glenwood AvenueThis 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

476 E. Main StreetA 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

532 E. Main StreetFounded 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

554 E. Main StreetThis 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

568 E. Main StreetBuilt 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

600 E. Main StreetBuilt 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

601 E. Main StreetOpened in 1923 as the Alumni Memorial Library to commemorate the 271 Ursinus students and alumni who served in World War I, this elegant stone building is now home to the Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art. The museum hosts changing exhibitions and educational programs throughout the year. Open to the public

601 E. Main StreetDesigned by architect Frank R. Watson of Philadelphia, the cornerstone of Bomberger Memorial Hall was laid on June 25, 1891. Built in the Romanesque style, much of the stone was quarried nearby in King of Prussia. Opened in 1892, the building provided the college with modern classrooms, offices, a library, and a chapel. The auditorium houses the Heefner Memorial Organ, a three-manual 62-rank organ dedicated in 1986. Open to the public for special events

601 E. Main StreetErected at the main entrance to Ursinus in 1925 through the generosity of George P. Eger, this iron and stone gateway has inset tablets telling the history of education on the campus since 1832. Open to the public

601 E. Main StreetInitially 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

612 E. Main StreetPurchased 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

620 E. Main StreetBuilt 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

640 E. Main StreetAcquired 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

801 E. Main StreetOwned 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

930 E. Main StreetBuilt 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

12 and 14 W. Main StreetBuilt 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

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. 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. 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.