Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center facts for kids

Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center

A tour is given at the main entrance of the library.
Location	Pennsburg, Pennsylvania
Incorporated	1946
Director	Beth A. Twiss Houting
www.schwenkfelder.org	www.schwenkfelder.org

The Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center is a special place in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. It's a library, archive, and museum all in one. This center works to keep safe and share old books, papers, and items. These items tell the story of the Schwenkfelders and people from southeastern Pennsylvania.

Discovering the Past: History of the Center

The collection at the Heritage Center started small. It was first kept in a private home in Hereford Township, Pennsylvania. In 1890, it officially became the "Schwenkfelder Historical Library." Just two years later, the collection moved to the Perkiomen Seminary. This school is now known as The Perkiomen School in Pennsburg.

How the Collection Grew

The first items collected were writings by a spiritual reformer named Kaspar Schwenkfeld von Ossig. He lived from 1489 to 1561. The collection grew so much that it needed more space. A special building, the Carnegie library, was built on the campus of The Perkiomen School. The upper floor of this library was used to store the growing collection. It included books, old papers, and other items about Schwenkfelder history.

In 1947, the Schwenkfelder Library became its own separate educational group. It was no longer part of the Perkiomen Seminary. By 1951, the books and papers moved again. They went into a new building right next to the Perkiomen School.

Leaders of the Center

Andrew S. Berky was the first full-time director of the library. He led the center from 1951 to 1973. Peter C. Erb took over in 1973 and served until 1983. Dennis K. Moyer became director in 1983 and stayed until 1997. After him, David W. Luz became the director.

A Barn's New Home

In 2001, the Schwenkfelder Historical Library got bigger. This expansion made room for all the library, archive, and museum items. Later, Vernon Seipt, whose family was Schwenkfelder, gave his family's old barn to the center. This barn was built in the 1820s.

The barn was carefully moved and rebuilt between 2018 and 2020. A group called Quarry View Building Group did the work. They knew how to build barns like the Amish do. They took the barn apart, labeled each piece, and moved them. Then, they put the barn back together at the Heritage Center. The center even won an award for adding the barn. It was recognized for saving history and good planning.

Exploring the Collections

The Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center officially started its collection in 1885. The first goal was to gather all the writings of Caspar Schwenckfeld von Ossig. These writings became a huge 19-volume set called the Corpus Schwenckfeldianorum. It was published between 1907 and 1961.

What You Can Find

After 1913, the collection grew even more. This happened after it moved into the Carnegie Library. In 1919, a lot of research material came from Germany. Dr. Elmer ES Johnson worked hard to collect these items. Most of the collection came from people donating their items. However, the library also bought some items. They bought part of the large collection of Pennsylvania Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker in the 1920s.

Today, the center has many different items. They focus on Schwenkfelder history. They also have items from the Goshenhoppen and Perkiomen Valley areas of Pennsylvania. The museum is famous for its collection of Schwenkfelder fraktur.

Special Items in the Museum

The museum has items about Caspar Schwenckfeld von Ossig. It also shows how Schwenkfelders moved to America. You can learn about their daily life in southeastern Pennsylvania. The collection includes:

• Furniture
• Household art
• Folk art paintings and drawings
• Farm tools
• Quilts
• Show towels and other textiles
• An herbarium (a collection of dried plants)

The Schwenkfelder Fraktur collection is very well known. Fraktur are beautiful, colorful folk art drawings. This collection includes:

• Bookplates
• Vorshriften (decorated writing samples)
• Religious texts
• Labyrinths (maze-like drawings)
• Certificates
• Manuscript books (handwritten books)

Library and Archive Treasures

Besides the Corpus project, the library and archive have many other things. These include:

• Local church and cemetery records
• German and English newspapers
• Deeds and land maps
• Family histories
• The H. Winslow Fegley photograph collection
• Pennsylvania German prints and manuscripts

See also

• Kaspar Schwenkfeld von Ossig
• Schwenkfelder Church