Morlatton Village Celebrates 300 Years in Amity

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County.

The Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County (HPTBC) invites you to join us for its summer and fall Third Saturday Programs. 

This year’s series will celebrate Morlatton Village and the 300th anniversary of Amity Township. 

These site-wide programs are offered  through October and include various formats and topics such as exhibits, demonstrations, interactive sessions, and oral and graphic presentations. 

Tours of Morlatton Village will be offered when applicable. The program begins at the White Horse Inn. Suggested donation $2/person. All proceeds benefit the Trust. 

“Cooking with the Collier”

Scheduled for Aug. 17 at 10 a.m. , join Jay Erb as he cooks over an open fire and discusses charcoal making in the nineteenth century. 

Visitors will get to meet a collier from the year 1815 who will teach about cooking nineteenth century meals that often included bacon, ham, sugar, and coffee. 

Colliers were charcoal makers who work provided fuel for iron forges and furnaces. Colliers spent a great deal of time in forests working to turn wood into charcoal, therefore they needed to cook over an open fire using a minimum number of utensils. 

Jay Erb is a ranger at Warwick Park in Chester County.

“Mistress Douglass and Mr. Douglass at Home”

Scheduled for Oct. 19 at 11 a.m., join Trust volunteers Courtney McKay Stevens and Omar Hottenstein, dressed in eighteenth century period clothing, as they portray Mr. & Mrs. George Douglass and receive visitors in their 1765 Georgian mansion. 

Mary Piersall Douglass will speak about her life at home with Mr. Douglass and their family and friends. A man of Scotland, George Douglass prospered as a businessman in the early Manatawny region. 

Please note, this program will take place at the George Douglass House in Morlatton Village.

The HPTBC is a non-profit organization that acquires, preserves, and maintains historically and architecturally significant properties in Berks County, Pennsylvania and educates Berks County and its’ visitors about the role these sites played in Pennsylvania and American history. 

The Trust seeks to foster community involvement and support in promoting awareness and appreciation of historic structures and encouraging their adaptive reuse. The Trust currently owns and maintains eight historically significant buildings in the greater Reading/Berks County area. 

The office is located in the White Horse Inn on Old Philadelphia Pike in Douglassville. If you are interested in donating to the Trust please call 610-385-4762 or visit www.historicpreservationtrust.org.

Celebrate Twelfth Night Jan. 5 in Morlattan Village

The White Horse Tavern is decorated for the season.

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County.

The Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County will present its first annual Twelfth Night Revelries event on Sat., Jan. 5 from 1 to 6 p.m.

Celebrate the conclusion of the Yuletide season and begin the New Year at the “Twelfth Night Revelries” featuring food and festivities, and music and dance at The White Horse Tavern in Morlattan Village in Douglassville. 

The 1762 White Horse Tavern is bedecked in nature’s green finery and holly, the Amity Colonial Dancers are ready to dance, and the sweet strains of live music by Dave Kline will be heard throughout the inn. Mulled cider and various holiday treats are on the menu.

Thought to originate in early Anglo-Saxon traditions, Twelfth Night evolved to mark the coming of the Epiphany, and the conclusion of the 12 days of Christmas. 

It is marked as a time of great merrymaking and song. 

Celebrate as it was done in “the olden times” and still in England, the Alps, Germany, and even the US. 

The Amity Colonial Dancers will perform at 1:30 and 3:30 pm. 

Musician Dave Kline will be on hand to sing and play his lute-guitar, recite a Wassail Toast, and add to the general merriment.

Event admission is $5 per person. 

The street address is 31 Old Philadelphia Pike, in Douglassville. 

For event specific information contact Sue Speros at firecracker32@verizon.net or 610-777-7567. 

Snow date for this event is Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019. 

Check out the website and Facebook page for updates.  All proceeds from this event benefit the Trust’s educational and preservation programs and projects.

The HPTBC is a non-profit organization that acquires, preserves, and maintains historically and architecturally significant properties in Berks County, Pennsylvania and educates Berks County and its’ visitors about the role these sites played in Pennsylvania and American history. 

The Trust seeks to foster community involvement and support in promoting awareness and appreciation of historic structures and encouraging their adaptive reuse. 

The Trust currently owns and maintains eight historically significant buildings in the greater Reading/Berks County area. The office is located in the White Horse Inn on Old Philadelphia Pike in Douglassville. If you are interested in donating to the Trust call 610-385-4762 or visit www.historicpreservationtrust.org.

Morlatton Village to Host Living History Event

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County.

The Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County will host a living history event on May 19 at its Morlatton Village headquarters in Douglassville from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.. 

Visitors can enjoy a variety of interactive presentations as well as tours of the Village and its buildings.

There will be several presentations going on throughout the Village:

• The Chapter 21 Archaeologists, a volunteer group, will present new archaeological findings at the 1716 Mouns Jones House, including the newly uncovered root cellar. 
• Volunteer Ken Biles’ Native American Artifact Collection will be on display as well near the Mouns Jones House. 
• Trust volunteers will be offering guided tours of the White Horse Tavern, George Douglass House, Michael Fulp House, and the Mouns Jones House. 
• At 10:30am, Trust volunteers Courtney Stevens and Susan Speros will give their program “Roots, Fruits, and Vegetables: Eighteenth Century Food Storage” in the White Horse Tavern. Visitors will have the opportunity to hear all about colonial foodways, including the use and purpose of a root cellar, and eighteenth century food preparation and storage. 
• At 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., there will be a presentation of the new play “Searching for Betsy Ross” sponsored by the Chapter 21 Archaeologists on the grounds of the Mouns Jones House. 

Admission is a $10 per person suggested donation. Trust members and children 12 and under are free. All proceeds benefit the Trust. Please check our website -- www.historicpreservationtrust.org -- for updates on the event. 

The HPTBC is a non-profit organization that acquires, preserves, and maintains historically and architecturally significant properties in Berks County, Pennsylvania and educates Berks County and its’ visitors about the role these sites played in Pennsylvania and American history. 

The Trust seeks to foster community involvement and support in promoting awareness and appreciation of historic structures and encouraging their adaptive reuse. 

The Trust currently owns and maintains eight historically significant buildings in the greater Reading/Berks County area.Our office is located in the White Horse Inn on Old Philadelphia Pike in Douglassville. If you are interested in donating to the Trust call 610-385-4762 or visit www.historicpreservationtrust.org.

Planting Seeds of History and Health at Morlotton

The program begins at the White Horse Tavern, shown above, in Morlotton Village Sept. 16.

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County.

The Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County will hold a site-wide event at Morlottan Village in Douglassville focusing on gardens of the 18th century on  Sat. Sept. 16.

Join Trust volunteers Sue Speros and Dr. Courtney Stevens to learn more about the importance of
gardens in the eighteenth century. Gardens were the “medicine chests” for the farms, the source of flavorful herbs for cooking, and provided lovely simple flowers that could bring beauty to a home.

The program will also include a visit to the White Horse Tavern’s herb garden where visitors will have a chance to experience and explore some of these herbs for themselves.

Susan Speros is the Site Manager for the Alleghany Aqueduct Historical Park, owned by the Berks
County Parks and Recreation Department. She also writes for the Reading Eagle’s Berks Country Magazine.

She currently serves as a director on the Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County board and volunteers at numerous historic sites across the county.

Dr. Courtney McKay Stevens is a retired professor of nursing and an active member of the local Herb
Society of America. Courtney is a longtime Trust volunteer and also donates her time to many other historic sites in the area.

The program begins at the White Horse Inn.

Tours of Morlatton Village will be offered when applicable.

All proceeds benefit the Trust.

These site-wide programs are offered April-October and include various formats and topics such as exhibits, demonstrations, interactive sessions, and oral and graphic presentations.

The suggested donation is $2 per person.

The HPTBC is a non-profit organization that acquires, preserves, and maintains historically and architecturally significant properties in Berks County, and educates Berks County and its visitors about the role these sites played in Pennsylvania and American history.

The Trust seeks to foster community involvement and support in promoting awareness and appreciation of historic structures and encouraging their adaptive reuse.

The Trust currently owns and maintains eight historically significant buildings in the greater Reading/Berks County area.

The office is located in the White Horse Inn on Old Philadelphia Pike in Douglassville.

If you are interested in donating to the Trust please call 610-385- 4762 or visit www.historicpreservationtrust.org.