Morgan Log House Walking Tour
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Description
This interactive walking tour of the Morgan Log House explores its history and works from any location.
1. Pasture
This is the first location for the Morgan Log House Walking Tour. Currently you are standing on the sidewalk or in the parking lot of the Towamencin Township Pool. However, a few decades ago, ending in the 1960s, this land was part of a pasture associated with the Morgan Log House farm.
2. Morgan Log House
The Morgan Log House, named for the earliest family to live on the property, sits on 1.7 acres that is owned by Towamencin Township and managed by the Morgan Log House, a nonprofit organization. The site is a place for of exploration of both history and architecture. The site features a restored late-18th-century log dwelling and addition, barn ruins, colonial garden, and park-like landscape. The house museum offers various public programs related to the history of the house and its community. Whether you are involved in preservation, education, history, or just relaxing, there is something for you.
3. Colonial Garden
The Colonial Garden is a recreation of what may have been on the property during the eighteenth century. It was installed sometime after 1976 when the Morgan Log House was restored and officially opened as a local house museum. The garden includes herbs, fruits, and vegetables appropriate for the eighteenth century. These plants would have served the families living here for a variety of uses including medicine, spices, dyes, teas, and food. The plants were also preserved in various ways to extend the life since many farming families worked to close to being self-sustaining. The fencing was part of another Boy Scout Eagle project and the garden is maintained by a museum volunteer.
4. Tool Shed
A framed, gabled, tool shed was located on the Morgan Log House property, north of the dwelling, possibly near the garden or just north of it. It may have had a saltbox appearance. It is unknown the age of the shed, but it was likely torn down around the 1970s restoration of the dwelling.
5. Barn ruins
This is the second location of the walking tour. The barn ruins and silo associated with the Morgan Log House can be seen at the southwest corner of Weikel Road and Stonybrook Lane. Please be advised not to cross the fence; the fenced area includes bee hives and unstable ground.
6. Fields
The agricultural fields of the Morgan Log House were located behind the house, to the west. These fields were later sold and developed for mid-century (1970s) housing, mostly along Stonybrook Lane. The fields extended to Troxel Road and included a variety of crops including hay, corn, and soy beans in the early twentieth century.
7. Duck House
A frame duck house was located west of the Morgan Log House dwelling. The structure was used by the Forsythe family to house their ducks that were raised for market. It is unknown the age of the structure, but it was likely demolished during the 1970s restoration of the dwelling.
8. Meadow
The meadow south of the Morgan Log House had several uses; as a garden, orchard, pasture, water source, and site of the springhouse. It has undergone several changes since the site is no longer used as a farm. Because of its low-lying location, it can be muddy. It now serves as a picnic space and gardening plots, installed by a Boy Scout Eagle Project in 2020.
9. Springhouse
A one-story, gabled, stone springhouse served the Morgan Log House property as a way to store perishable food items like milk and other dairy products prior to refrigeration. It was located near the intersection of Weikel Road and the Towamencin Creek tributary. It was later demolished to allow for the widening of the road and the replacement of the creek's culvert.
10. Backyard
The Backyard of the Morgan Log House has also seen changes over the years. It currently contains a fenced, stoned immediate yard, a modern utility shed, compost, and hops garden. The shed, compost, and hops garden were all Boy Scout Eagle projects. In the 1930s, the landscape looked very different.
