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July—August 2017 Vol. MMXVII No. 4

The

Upcoming Events

Fun in the 1900’s History Center! Sun., July 15 10 am to 3 pm

FREE Visit the General Store

Fun in the 1900’s History Center! Sat., Aug. 12 10 am to 3 pm

FREE Coal Activity

Fun in the 1900’s History Center! Sat., Aug. 19 10 am to 3 pm

FREE Transportation in 1900

Exhibit: “Stitch to Learn, Learn to Stitch”

Open until Jan. 31 FREE

What’s Happening in September

Craft Marketplace Sat., Sept. 16 9:30 am—3 pm

FREE Friends of Pennypacker Mills

In Italy there are piazzas, the French have sidewalk cafes, Mediterranean countries have homes with courtyards, but the American front porch is unique. Porches can be wide or nar-row, one or two story, cover half the front façade or wrap around three or even four sides of a house. In 1910, you could easily find streets in most American towns on which every house had a front porch. Today, houses are more likely to have a garage facing the street and a deck in the backyard. The his-tory of porches is the cultural and architectural history of America. The Origins of the American Front Porch The word “porch” derives from the Latin word, “porticus” which signifies a columned entry. During the Victorian Era, the word “porch” became interchangeably used with the words “veranda,” “piazza,” “loggia,” and “portico.” By the end of the 19th century the word “porch” began to represent its present meaning: a “roofed, but incompletely walled living area contiguously attached to the frame of a house.” The roots of the American porch relate to the diverse cultures of inhabitants of our country. Being mostly European, people did not bring the idea of a porch with them.

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Above: Pennypacker Mills in the morning mist.

Reach the site at 610-287-9349 or PennypackerMills@montcopa.org

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However, people from West Africa brought the idea of the shotgun house with a front porch. Climate was believed to also influence Europe-ans living here, especially in the South. Both cre-ated what we know of as the American porch. Housing Styles Affect Porches The development of porches can be seen through the development of housing styles in our history. Georgian (1650-1850) houses had no porches, while Greek Revival (1830-1855) styles had a front porch, usually covered by a ga-ble resting on enormous columns. Gothic Revival (1840-1860) styled homes incorporated a front porch as a necessi-

ty. The primary goal of this style was to blend in with the natural land-scape. To achieve this goal, the “sitting porch” was usually found at the front of the house and was ornately decorated with gothic frames and porch

posts, rails and aprons. This is the time period when the front porch became an essen-tial element of American ar-chitecture. Italianate (1840-1885) houses, found mostly in New England and the Mid-west, had full or partial porches with smaller porches in cities. These porches had

painted roofs, elaborate posts and col-umns, lattice and cast-iron elements. The Stick Style houses featured extensive and decorative exterior wood framing with spacious

porches, sometimes wrapping around the en-tire house, as well as the second and third floors. At the beginning of the twentieth century, more and more people were getting their ideas for home construction from published pattern books which featured houses designed by pro-fessional architects. Like other artists, many architects had begun to see the porch as a way of linking the house to nature. Why did porches become so popular? Technology and social customs of the time led

to the popularity of porches. By the 1840’s, in-dustrialization led to free time and a new lei-sure class. The front porch was an obvious choice for relaxation, with rocking chairs and wicker furniture. These social customs along with new techniques that made porches cheaper and more ornamental contributed to their popularity. These new techniques made milled lumber cheaper. Also, new “balloon frame” construction using small boards milled to standard lengths replaced more expensive and complicated timber framing. During this time there was new interest in na-ture and the American landscape. Artists from the Hudson River School and literary works by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Tho-reau provided a new vision of

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Above: Greek Revival architecture.

Above: Gothic Revival architecture.

Above: Italianate architecture.

Above: Stick Style architecture.

Above: A photograph of Samuel W. Pennypacker and Rev. John Baer Stoudt on the south porch of Pennypacker Mills, May 17, 1913.

Website: www.montcopa.org/pennypackermills

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Spend a summer day at Pennypacker Mills when the 1900’s History Center is open and there are lots of hands-on activities for children & adults alike. Afterward, take a guided tour through the Pennypacker mansion (it’s air conditioned) and see our newest exhibit, “Stitch to Learn, Learn to Stitch.” Tours take approximately 1 hour and are FREE.

A Visit to the General Store Saturday, July 15 10 am to 3 pm

Meet our Store Keeper and “shop” in our General Store to buy food for a recipe. Choose as many recipes as you wish. You’ll be given a quick tour to find out where everything is located and why General Stores were so important in a community such as Schwenksville.

Breaker Boys in the Coal Mines of Pennsylvania Saturday, August 12 10 am to 3 pm

Experience life as a Breaker Boy whose job it was to sort coal and shale in the Breaker. Discover how coal is formed, how it was the powerhouse that ran the country in the 1900’s, and some of the dangers that boys faced who became these workers. Along the way, you’ll learn about the National Child Labor Committee and

photographer Lewis Hines, both early advocates for children who worked dangerous jobs in the US. Also, find out the jobs that girls did too.

Transportation in the Early 1900’s Saturday, August 19 10 am to 3 pm

Discover the various modes of transportation that one could use in the early 1900’s. From riding a carriage to taking a train, to walking and also riding in an early automobile! How long did it take to get from here to there? Discover our beautifully restored horse & carriage and find out what it has in common with today’s transportation. Take a ride in our horse & wagon too.

FREE, suggested donation $2/person

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nature as part of our social conscience. In cit-ies such as New York and Philadelphia, a movement to preserve nature grew. Cemeter-ies became places to visit and picnic. Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia provided for a very naturalistic experience for visitors. The creation of parks designed to preserve and enhance nature were created. Central Park was one of the most notable and whose objec-tive was to blend in with nature. It was landscape architect Andrew Jackson Downing who linked the American house to the American landscape. He articulated the necessity for and meaning of the front porch, “a porch strengthens or conveys expression of purpose, because, instead of leaving the en-trance door bare, as in manufactories and buildings of inferior description it serves both as a note of preparation, and an effectual shel-ter and protection to the entrance.” To Down-ing, the porch served as an intermediary be-tween the outside landscape and the house itself. He also felt that “the unclouded splendor and fierce heat of our summer sun, render this general appendage a source of real comfort and enjoyment; and the long veranda round many of our country residences stands instead of the paved terraces of the English days or eve-nings are there passed in the enjoyment of cool breezes, secure under the low roofs supported by the open colonnade, from the solar rays, or the dews of night.” In many ways, the front porch represented the American ideal of family. It was an out-door living room where the family could re-

tire after the activities of the day. It provided a cool alternative to the stuffy indoor temper-atures at night. Children could play on the front lawn while parents rocked in their chairs. Stories could be told, advice given or songs sung. What would become the family room after World War II, existed first as a front porch. At Penny-packer Mills, wick-er furnish-ings, tables and rocking chairs were placed on the porch for every-one to en-joy a cool breeze dur-ing the day and the cooler eve-nings. The large roofline also shaded the interior rooms of the Formal Parlor and Library.

The front porch could also serve as a zone be-tween the public and private; an area where one could in-teract with neighbors. The porch

fostered a sense of community and neighbor-liness. As people moved outdoors in the eve-nings, the porch served to connect them. Friends might stop by and sit on the porch to talk. A passing neighbor could say, “hello.” The

Above: Samuel Pennypacker II and two turtles on the south porch of Pennypacker Mills, circa 1915-1925.

Above: Executive mansion in Harrisburg, PA. Family members and friends on front porch, circa 1903.

Above: Samuel & Virginia Pennypacker with family & friends, circa 1903-1916. Front porches were a popular setting for family portraits partly because it was a large enough space to gather large groups and because there was plenty of light in the days before strobe lights.

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porch brought a neighborhood together and made everyone more aware of their communi-ty.

Why front porches declined in popularity Several technological inven-tions led to the decline of front porches. Perhaps the most im-portant was the development and proliferation of the auto-

mobile. The growing numbers of automobiles in America, their use by different classes of peo-ple, and its growing use as a means of transpor-tation flooded the American streets. Conse-quently, the front porch was no longer an idyl-lic setting where one could relax. Exhaust fumes and the increasing noise of automobiles and trucks made porches less hospitable and unhealthy places. The automobile made it possible for families to move further distances from their workplaces and build on less expensive land. The new “suburbs” were very automobile dependent and most homes did not incorporate a front porch. The technological development of electric fans and air conditioning further caused the decline of the front porch. Many families remained in-doors to stay cool on hot days. Additionally, an-other technology, the television, sealed the fate of front porches. Family life shifted from the porch to the family room (formerly known as the Informal Parlor). With these technological changes, Americans’ connection with nature declined as we became more reliant on the automobile. The American idea of community also declined. We have be-come more individualistic and less community oriented. This change helped to eliminate porches among other things. By the 1960’s, the front porch had all but disap-peared. They could now be found on the back or side yard, or eliminated altogether. The back deck, most popular in the 1970’s, was purely private, a place where only invited

friends and family gathered. So what is it about front porches that makes them worth constructing again? Front porches are about hospitality and welcome; letting chil-dren play outdoors in their front yards; keep-ing an eye on your street for safety; and proba-bly the most important, spending more time connecting with our neighbors, walking, gar-dening, and enjoying the outdoors (not televi-sion or the computer). It turns out that front porches are more than a quaint outdoor room attached to our home, they are a connection to nature, our friends and neighbors, and the greater community.

Anyone who has experienced a screened-in porch knows how wonderful it is. All the benefits of a breeze, sounds, sights of being outdoors, but none of the bugs! Window screens were used as soon as people be-gan framing windows. At first, screens were made of wood or ceramic. They provided protection from animal and human intruders but allowed some light and ventilation into a building. Over the years, various businesses advertised wire window screens but in the 19th century, as mining and manufacturing advanced, metal became widely available and techniques to make thin wire were less expensive. Gilbert & Bennett Manufacturing Co. of Connecticut invented affordable wire-mesh window screens. In the 1840’s they began experimenting with weaving steel wire mesh. When the Civil War began in 1861, the loss of its southern markets prompted the company to design an expanded product line, including window screens. Their window screens were painted to resist rust. Window screens designed specifically to prevent insect entry were not patented in the U.S., although by 1900 several patents were awarded for innova-tions in window screen design.

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Making the connection between the past and the present is a constant goal for those of us who work and volunteer here at the Mills. Every once in awhile, there is a child who really finds the history and story of Samuel Pennypacker compelling. We thought it would be interesting to follow in the steps of Mitchell Marion, a fourth grader at Marlborough Elementary School in Green Lane as he made Samuel Pennypacker the subject of his report on a famous person from Pennsylvania.

For this project, Mitchell had been assigned President Eisenhower, but he had someone else in mind. Being a frequent visitor to Pennypack-er Mills, he wanted to report on Samuel. His teacher approved the request, and Mitchell pro-ceeded to portray Governor Pennypacker and write a report, make a poster and dress as the Governor at a school “wax museum” event. As people came by, Mitchell “came to life” as Samu-el Pennypacker and told what he knew about him.

Mitchell epitomizes the kind of youngster that will grow up appre-ciating history and caring about places like Pennypacker Mills. His

enthusiasm, gumption, and clear appreciation for how history can enrich our life is evident. Aspiring historian, and inspiring too!

As Mitchell said in his report, “If you enjoy history, you can take a tour of Pennypacker Mills in nearby Schwenksville….Today, it (Pennypacker Mills) is a Historic Site which has many fun events and activities throughout the year. You can learn more about Samuel and his family by visiting this historic site.” We couldn’t agree more and hope Mitchell inspires many of our readers to come back periodically to enjoy our events, exhibits, hands-on activities, and tours.

We applaud Mitchell for learning more about Pennypacker Mills, Samuel Pennypacker, and caring about his local history. When you’re a bit older, feel free to become a volunteer!

Above: Mitchell Marion at the 2017 Civil War Event at Pennypacker Mills.

Dress Up for Photo Opportunity

Victorian Lawn Games

Bean Bag Toss

Vintage Car Show—Delaware Valley Classic MG Car Club

Visit the General Store

Summertime Crafts

Visit the Pennypacker Mansion for Guided Tours

(air conditioned!)

Food Vendor On-Site for lunch & refreshments

FREE, suggested donation $2/person

Information: 610-287-9349

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Support this historic site, join the Friends of Pennypacker Mills www.friendsPPM.org

Pennypacker Mills

5 Haldeman Road

Schwenksville, PA 19473

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

VALERIE A. ARKOOSH, MD, MPH CHAIR

KENNETH E. LAWRENCE, JR., VICE CHAIR

JOSEPH C. GALE, Commissioner

Saturday, September 16 9:30 am to 3 pm

The Friends of Pennypacker Mills are hosting their annual Craft Mar-

ketplace event with over 50 crafters selling a wide variety of home-

made crafts and art for all occasions. You’ll find everything from jewel-

ry to vintage items, from artwork to handmade wooden toys and bird-

houses! There is something for everyone.

Stop by the Mansion for a guided tour too! See two floors of the com-

pletely furnished home of PA Governor Samuel Pennypacker and his

family. A food vendor will be onsite to provide food & refreshments.

Free Admission & Parking