This Heebner Direct-Geared, One-Horsepower, Tread Power was built in 1896 by the Worcester family, David Heebner and Sons, in their Lansdale factory. The Tread Power was one of many modern agricultural improvements in the post-Civil War Period patented by Heebner which included threshers, saws, grain crackers, etc. The Tread Power allowed horses to run farm machinery.
2023 marks the 125th anniversary of the construction of The Farmers’ Union Hall The following information was compiled from articles in the Montgomery Transcript, the newspaper of the time. The Worcester Alumni Association agreed to help the Farmers’ Union to construct a Hall for the organization. It had been meeting at Center Point Hall, part…
Dear Friends, This is to inform you that our open house on December 3 was a great success. Many existing members, new members, corporate sponsors, benefactors and local folks showed up to participate. The highlight of the event was the unveiling of the two, restored murals donated by the new owners of the Roy Schweiker…
This July the Worcester Historical Society undertook a number of improvements to the Covered Wagon Shed. This included a new metal roof constructed by local carpenters with the financial support of Wehrung’s Collegeville. It was decided that a cupola and weathervane would be a good addition to the new roof. Thanks to the financial support…
As most of you know, the Worcester Historical Society owns the Dutchie Church on Valley Forge and Heebner Roads. We recently informed you of the Dutchie Oak located near the cemetery which we grew from an acorn. Inside the Dutchie, it was determined that we had far too many pews in questionable condition. Local Worcester…
It has been five years since Worcester Township lost the historic, Methacton Charter Oak located at the corner of the Methacton Mennonite Cemetery. This white oak was one of the original Bi-Centennial Trees identified in Worcester Township by a group of Worcester Historical Society members to commemorate our country’s 200-year anniversary in 1976. There were…
The Conestoga Wagon shed, located next to the Farmer’s Union Hall, was built by longtime WHS member and professional builder, Dick Shaefer, in 1987 as a special building to house our Conestoga wagon which was part of the bicentennial celebration. The wagon was one of many which made its way to Valley Forge, arriving around…
WHS participated again this year in the Skippack 4th of July Parade. Each year we include some bit of history, including the history of the candy we share. Designed and executed by Vice President Debbie Kavanaugh, 2022 included illustrations of the evolution of swimsuits from 1900 – 1960, dates of local swimming clubs, and the…
The Worcester Historical Society was honored to be given a Quester grant this past month from the Rittenhouse Questers. The Rittenhouse Questers are a local chapter based in Collegeville. Quester groups are located across the country in over 38 States and 2 Canadian Provinces. They gather to preserve the past for the future, by promoting…
The Worcester Historical Society was pleased to host our annual Christmas Open House on Saturday, December 4th from 1-4 pm. This marked forty-four years (we missed last year because of Covid) where we have presented a Christmas Open House to the community. This year was exceptional as we had one of the largest turnouts in…