Discovering, recording, preserving and sharing...
The Longswamp Township Historical Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit charitable organization dedicated to discovering, recording, preserving, and sharing the history and heritage of Longswamp Township. (more)
- Our educational and entertaining programs share information about the people, places and things of Longswamp Township. You’ll find a list of upcoming events at the bottom of this page.
- Our booklets, each one showcasing a village(s) and adjacent hamlet(s) within the township, offer a glimpse into the township’s past. Visit our web store for a complete list of our nine booklets plus other items for sale that link to the township's past and present.
- In April, 2019, we acquired the 19th century Mertztown train station, a 19th century structure included within a township historical overlay district, with plans to restore and re-purpose the building as a museum to house our collection of donated and purchased artifacts from the area. To learn more about this exciting restoration/ re-purposing project, we invite you to visit our Mertztown Station webpage.
Photos from our ephemera collection: Mertztown train station, photo ca.(?); Levi B. Walbert, lumber company proprietor and postmaster for the village of Hancock; Longswamp School 1952 graduating class picture; Howerter-Long grist mill, one of three township structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places; Shoemaker’s Bakery; the Lower Longswamp Hotel; Lower Longswamp Gas Station; Uriah Biery, a one-time, leading iron ore mine developer; remains of a burgeoning commerce center in the village of Mertztown that was destroyed by fire; Schlossburg School class picture 1921-22; the Shamrock Hotel (built ca. 1860); the Shamrock Creamery, one of several dairies that once operated in the township; a late 19th century spring house in the village of Red Lion.
News in Brief
Visit our News webpage for details.
Oct 10: Ghost story from Longswamp's past haunts children at the Great Pumpkin Hunt event. Sep 13: 2nd Annual Historic Scavenger Hunt: Community members visited 10 township locations, learning about township history along the way. Aug 2: Open house and WFMZ Lehigh Valley coverage, Railpace News Magazine coverage Jul 30: WFMZ TV (Berks edition) interview: Open house set for Mertztown train station on Sunday Jul 29: In memoriam: Michael D. Radcliffe Founding Longswamp Township Historical Society member, treasurer, friend. (Aug 4, 1948 - July 25, 2020) May 20: LTHS awarded a $2,500 grant from the Berks County Community Foundation's Conservation Equity Fund to help support the Save Our Station: Mertztown Train Station project. |
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Upcoming Events
Visit our Events page for more details. |
