There's a place in the Valley where you can see over 500-year-old books. Or some quilts made nearly 200 years ago by ladies from Boyertown to Lansdale. Or examples of locally built farm machinery from the turn of the 20th century. Or a barn from the early 1800s, carefully moved and reconstructed on what was long ago a farmer's field, right off Seminary Street.

The Center's largest artifact is the 1826 Seipt Family Barn, a reconstructed small Pennsyl- vania bank barn.

            All these diverse objects, and more, can be seen at the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center, located in Pennsburg at 105 Seminary St., right next to the Perkiomen School.  On September 25 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Heritage Center is inviting the community in for a special open house, with tours, children's activities, and a special goody bag for each family.  It's free and all are welcome.

            Despite the organization's nearly 100-year presence in the Valley, many residents still aren't familiar with it or think that it is some sort of exclusive organization or there's nothing for them there.

A look at the interior of the Seipt Barn, which was moved from Towamencin Township to Pennsburg in 2019.

            Beth Twiss Houting, the Center's executive director, commented on how the organization hopes to reach more of the community. "I personally would like to see the Heritage Center continue to evolve as a place where people feel welcome and comfortable inside our doors, and that we reach more people of all ages and backgrounds."

The Center offers all kinds of programming for adults and children, most at free or low cost, both in person and virtual.

            The Heritage Center preserves and interprets the history of the Schwenkfelders, a German-speaking Protestant group that came to Pennsylvania for the religious tolerance the colony offered in the 1730s. Local Pennsylvania German culture and history is also part of the organization's mission, as well as the history of our Valley communities and the families who live and work here, no matter what their heritage.

            What do visitors see when they come to the Heritage Center? For one, a newly expanded facility with more space for exhibits and programs. In addition to the 1950 Schwenkfelder Library building, which faces Seminary Street, visitors can tour the museum galleries in the 2000 addition, including the Stauffer Schwenkfelder Gallery, dedicated to the story of the Schwenkfelder group in Europe and Pennsylvania.  The exhibits feature objects from the Heritage Center collection that illustrate the lives of the Schwenkfelders from the 18th Century to the 20th, including their furniture, 

On the first floor of the 2020 addition is the Kriebel Rural En- tepreneurship Gallery which features farm equipment and  needs of the average household that were manufactured  locally.

needlework, and all kinds of objects used in their domestic and spiritual lives.

            The recent 2020 addition to the Heritage Center houses the Schultz Rural Life gallery on the ground floor, a visually dazzling exhibit of tools and equipment used in the last three centuries by local farm families for all the varied activities that kept the farms running. The centerpiece is an early 1800s Conestoga wagon, a gift from Valley Forge National Park. 

            On the first floor of the new addition is the Kriebel Rural Entrepreneurship Gallery, dedicated to the interpretation of some of the commerce and industry established in the region from the colonial period to the 20th century.  This gallery features the farm equipment manufactured by Heebner & Sons of Lansdale, and Krauss Brothers of Kraussdale, among other significant and quite successful local industries that often evolved from an individual farmer's know-how and persistence. The Montgomery County giant, Hatfield Meats, for example, started as a typical small butchering operation on one family farm, and today is one of the top meatpackers in the country.

The Schultz Rural Life gallery on the ground floor of the new addition has as its centerpiece, an early 1800's Conestoga wagon which was a gift fromValley Forge National Park.

            The Heritage Center's largest artifact, however, is connected to the new addition by a two-level enclosed hallway. It's the 1826 Seipt Family Barn, a reconstructed small Pennsylvania bank barn that is preserved at the Heritage Center to illustrate a way of life once prevalent in Montgomery County, but now quite diminished - the family farm.  Visitors are invited to take guided tours of this little gem of a barn, which is sure to evoke memories from those who may themselves have come from a farming background or introduce others who have never set foot in a barn to its purposes and construction.

            Executive Director Beth Twiss Houting added, "My goal would be to get to a place where almost everyone in the community knows of the Heritage Center and what it has for them - that school kids would think of us as a great place to do historical research, that families would think of the Heritage Center when planning time with their kids, that adults would see us as part of the life-long learning opportunities in the Valley, that civic and social groups would see us as a resource for hard conversations, that businesses would support and promote us because we enhance the quality of life for their employees and clients."

            "It is the act of bringing together people," she said.

The Community Open House, this Saturday, September 25, is just such an opportunity for residents from throughout the area to experience the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center and all it has to offer.

            Staff will be on hand to give tours and answer questions. Plus, there's a gift shop with something for everyone; it will surprise you!  If you want to pre-register for a tour, call 215-679-3103 or email info@schwenkfelder.com.

             For more information, check out the website at www.schwenkfelder.org or the Center's very active Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Schwenkfelder.