Watercolor from the collections of The Historical Society of Montgomery County, PA. Translation of inscription: "Propsect of Philip Gabel's farmstead from the South Side, lying in Upper Salford, on the North. Welsh [for North Wales] street, 32 miles from Philadelphia." Translation provided by Lisa Minardi, Director of Collections and Exhibitions, Historical Society of Trappe located in Collegeville.

            The Upper Perkiomen Valley and surrounding area is speckled with historic places and structures that whisper unique stories of the past.

            In the 1700's, well before the independence of our nation, there were great streams of immigration to America. Many people from all corners of the world, fled to

The Gabel Tavern structure as it stands present day. It provides a snapshot of Upper Salford history. In 1759, when Nicholas Scull drew a map of Pennsylvania, this property was noted, indicating its importance in the newly formed settlement.

English colonies in pursuit of opportunity and to escape religious persecution.

            England understood the importance of increasing the number of people in their American colonial settlements. England was also well aware that she needed to retain her subjects at home in order to maintain England's core imperialistic strength.

            England encouraged German immigration to increase English stronghold in America without diminishing its own population. One group in particular left its unique cultural imprint on our region. German immigrants seeking freedom of religion and a new life fled to English settlements. They became an integral part of the fabric that weaved American diversity. These emigrants brought their knowledge of farming, work ethic, religious devotion

The photo on the left is of the Nottage brothers. They brought a form of evangelicalism to the United States and used the tavern as a summer camp.

and entrepreneurial spirit to Pennsylvania and beyond.

            What does all of this have to do with historical structures in our area? Not far from the Upper Perk Valley is a building frozen in time. On the corner of Old Sumneytown Pike and Perkiomenville Road is the remains of a property that once was a productive working farm, Tavern and in the mid 1900's,a place of religious study.

            The property has a rich and interesting history that tells the story of early German settlers and later Caribbean emigrants in the twentieth century, who brought their own culture and beliefs. The story begins when a man named Johann Philip Gabel set off to America with his son and pregnant wife Elisabeth Catharina in 1739. Their ship named "Samuel" left from Rotterdam on August 27, under the command of Captain Hugh Percy. There were 340 passengers on board.

            Shortly after their arrival to America, Johan Philip II was born. He is the first to be associated with what would later become the "Gabel Tavern."  

            Before the Gabel Tavern, the property belonged to J acob Nuss. The property was developed in 1740 by Nuss. He immigrated to America in 1737. He was on the same ship as Daniel Hiester Sr.  After arriving in America, they both settled in Upper Salford. Daniel Hiester built the historic Hiester house on Sumneytown Pike. Both men were leaders in the community and Old Goshenhoppen Church. The date of the structure was two years before or two years after the first church building of "Old Goshenhoppen", which would make the date of its construction either 1742 or 1746.

            In 1757, Jacob Nuss lost the property to satisfy a debt of 442 English pounds. In 1758, William Clampffer bought it at public auction. Killian Gaugler, a cousin-in-law of Nuss, bought the 280 acres shortly after in March of 1758. Killian Gaugler died in 1765. He left behind a widow and 8 children. All heirs are mentioned in the will and his wife as executrix of the estate.

            In 1766, Johan Philip Gabel II, married Anna Margretha, Gaugler's widow. Anna was 15 years older than her newly wedded husband Philip. Soon after, Philip bought out all the heirs and become sole owner of the 280 acre Killian estate. A resurveying of the property yielded an additional 10 acres bringing the total acreage to 290 acres. Johan Philip Gabel was a savvy business man and accumulated many properties under his name. He also took a deep interest in church and military affairs. Philip Gabel was Captain of the First Battalion in the Philadelphia County militia, commanded by Colonel Daniel Hiester during the Revolutionary war.

            He and Anna had one son named John Philip III, who in his adult life, had several children that worked as innkeepers along Kutztown Road and Molasses Creek area in Skippack. Historians believe the business ledgers of Philip Gabel Senior, became part of his great grandson Percival Gabel's family collection, which included; a hotel license and deeds for his 340 acre total acreage.

            Percival Gabel operated many inns. He opened a Tavern in Quakertown. The Red Lion is still in operation.

            Many years later, the Gabel property was purchased in 1940 by a minister that emigrated from the Bahamas. The Nottage brothers brought a form of evangelicalism to the United States. The Whitfield Nottage family ran the Ebenezer Bible camp out of this building. The daughter of Whitfield and Captilda, former Pennsylvania Secretary of State C. Dolores Tucker from the 1970's spent part of her childhood on the property and attended the local schoolhouse.

            It can be argued that the Whitfield-Nottage occupancy of the property is equally important historically as the Gabel family ownership. The once frequented Inn is now boarded up and stands fixed in time. The house/tavern, summer kitchen and its' extensions remain, along with one of the barns.

            The Gabel property, Hiester House, Old Goshenhoppen Church and many other structures, exhibit a deeply interwoven and integral aspect of Upper Salford history.