Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center

Description:

Visitors to the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania discover what life was like for those who settled the Upper Perkiomen Valley through viewing exhibits, participating in programs, and conducting their own research in the library. 

The museum exhibits both tell the stories of the Schwenkfelders, a Protestant group who came to southeastern Pennsylvania in the early 1700s seeking religious freedom, and showcase the lives of all people who have lived in this region, including the lower Lehigh County, for the last 300 years. The main galleries are filled with the household goods and tools needed to run a farm and provide for a family from the early 1800s until the early 1900s. 

Visitors can explore a reconstructed 1826 Pennsylvania bank barn to get a sense of farm work as well as exhibit galleries where they can see looms, plows, and cider presses. Artifacts, such as a bellows from the Hampton Furnace, Lower Milford, and a piano made in Krausddale, show how ingenious farmers created businesses that supplied local needs that later grew into sustainable industries. Along with heavy farm machinery such as threshers and ice-harvesting tools, visitors can enjoy galleries of decorative and fine arts.  The Heritage Center, for example, has one of the largest collections in the world of fraktur, or illuminated manuscripts made by Pennsylvania Germans, including ones from Lower Milford made in the early 1800s. 

There is always something new for visitors too! Besides permanent exhibits, changing exhibits are installed periodically. Each Christmas season the Putz is on view. Programs occur throughout the year too, ranging from brown bag lunches for adults on local history to summer camps for kids. Spring brings the Penn Dry Goods Market antique show. Check out the website at www.schwenkfelder.org for program times and virtual program links.

Anyone is welcome to research in the library where they can trace their genealogy, learn about old buildings, and explore local history in general. The collection includes unpublished records from churches in Lehigh County and fabulous photographs from the early 1900s showing daily life. 

The museum and library are open without admission, though reservations are needed for tours of the barn.

Joins us for our Special Events:

• Penn Dry Goods Market –  late May/early June
• Christmas Market –  The first weekend of each December features a special shopping experience of seasonal goods and items related to Pennsylvanian German heritage.
• Annual Christmas Putz – mid-November through February: Special miniature landscapes celebrating the holiday season

Year-round programs: (all require pre-registration)

• Brown Bag Lunch lectures – 2^nd Wednesday of each month at noon; free
• Hands-on History, History Detective programs, and Camp programs – for elementary and middle school children – see website for specific dates, topics, and other details
• Genealogy Club – 3^rd Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m.; free