Henry Antes House

The Henry Antes House was built in 1736 by Henry Antes, a skilled craftsman. The house is now most visited during the Goschenhoppen Folk Festival, a musical celebration to honor early Pennsylvania German culture. Not only is this house a nicely preserved 18th century colonial house, but it is also a home that highlights what immigrants were able to bring to the new colonies.

Henry Antes came to Pennsylvania when he was 19 and established work by building a paper mill. He would later marry and have children requiring a more spacious house. He built the house now known as the “Henry Antes House” on a 175 acre plot of land. He also built a paper mill on the land.

During the Revolutionary War this house became known as the Fagleysville Encampment or Pottsgrove Encampment. General Washington made the Antes house his headquarters at the invitation of Col. Frederick Antes (son of Henry Antes). This location could allow Washington and his troops to quickly oppose British troops as they tried to move to Reading for supplies, Chester County for iron foundries or York where Congress had fled.

Today the house is operated by Goschenhoppen Historians Inc. They organize a yearly Goschenhoppen Folk Festival in August that showcases the trades and home skills of the Pennsylvania Dutch in the 18th and 19th centuries. Volunteers, dressed in authentic costumes, use authentic tools in recreating traditional home skills, trades, pastimes, foods, and folk music. There are also programs and lectures, both serious and humorous, presented in Pennsylvania Dutch dialect and in English.

http://www.goschenhoppen.org/antes-plantation.html http://www.oldhouseweb.com/blog/1736-pa-germa-house/ http://www.thehistorygirl.com/2013/08/germanic-cultural-ties-at-henry-antes.html