"Sis" Forsythe, in her oral history and site map, details what was in the backyard of the farm during the 1930s. It is unknown what the farm may have looked like prior to the Forsythes, but similar wooden outbuildings likely existed. An outhouse was located southwest of the house, approximately in the area of the current shed. A duck house was located several feet east of the outhouse, along a the fence line (not the current fence, which was installed in the 1980s). Further north from the ducks, was a vegetable garden. North of the garden, was a grape arbor, corn crib, and a two-story pigeon house.The grape arbor was likely used to grow the fruit for the family and market, but home wine-making was popular. The corn crib, a wooden structure to house corn, was a precursor to the modern silo that housed grain for the farm's cows.A dirt drive, opening onto Weikel Road, provided access to the interior of the farm and traveled westward to the rear of the farm.Crop fields were located west of the backyard and were cultivated with hay, corn, and soy beans.

"Sis" Forsythe Robinson's site map of the farm, now known as the Morgan Log House.

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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.

Backyard

This interactive walking tour of the Morgan Log House explores its history and works from any location. 

In the early twentieth century, the Morgan Log House property was an active farm, a dairy farm of approximately 62 acres with Weikel Road serving as a driveway for the property's access to Allentown Road. The pasture fields for the Holstein dairy cows were located where the current Towamencin Township Pool is located, across the street from the museum. Much of the remaining acreage of the farm was sold and developed in the 1960s, ending its use as an active farm. The remaining acreage of the property included the current parcels of the Morgan Log House and where the pool is located. Township Supervisor, Dr. J. Jacobs realized the importance of the colonial house in the late 1960s and helped start the incentive to restore the property. The remaining acreage was later transferred to the township's ownership. The pasture land was developed to accommodate a township pool. Looking at an 1958 aerial, can you determine the location of the Morgan Log House in relation to Allentown Road?

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. 

Pasture

The families that lived in the Morgan Log House were working class people who left behind very few written records. As a result, much of what we know about the Morgan Log House was gleaned through deed research, other documents like censuses and probate records, and the house itself. A Farm Home The land the Morgan Log House stands on was originally deeded to the Commissioners of William Penn, who granted it as part of a 600 acre patent to a merchant named Griffith Jones in February, 1702. Six year later, in 1708, a Welsh Quaker immigrant named Edward Morgan purchased approximately 309 acres of land from Griffith Jones. Morgan and his family became the first settlers of the property. The Morgan family was among the earliest Welsh settlers in the Towamencin area. Among the descendants of Edward Morgan and his wife Elizabeth are the frontiersman Daniel Boone, journalist and broadcaster Lowell Thomas, and mutual fund industry pioneer, Walter L. Morgan. The property later became under John Yaekel's ownership, a German Schwenkfelder, in 1770. Yaekel built the existing log house sometime between 1770 and 1774. After having made these “fair improvements,” Yaekel sold the property and the log house to Yellis Cassel, and his family, a Mennonite family who were known pacifists during the American Revolution. The Cassel family owned the property for 99 years. After a succession of owners and property divisions, the remaining 17 acres of property were sold to be developed in 1965, with the then abandoned log house being condemned two years later. Throughout its functional life, the house had always been a part of a farm that was worked by the families that lived there. The RestorationArchitect Albert F. Ruthrauff asserted that the property was a unique historic structure in 1967, as the building sat condemned. The house was brought to the attention of historic restoration architect G. Edwin Brumbaugh and the Towamencin Township Board of Supervisors. Supervisor John B. Jacobs spearheaded a movement to save the house from demolition. A non profit organization, the Towamencin Historical Society (now the Morgan Log House), formed during the restoration and began research on the home and its occupants. Restoration was completed in 1976, with the house opening to the public for tours that same year. The Morgan Log House TodayIn 1973, the Morgan Log House was added to the National Register of Historic Places.Today, the Morgan Log House continues to bring the past to life through tours, programs, and workshops that educate the public about how the lives of those living in the Morgan Log House and throughout the region illuminate to the broader American story.

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.

Morgan Log House

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. Please see our gardening brochure inside the museum for detailed layout of our garden and its plants and explore the garden. Beds include a variety of herbs with Colonial fruits and vegetables. The garden generally produces includes skirrets (similar to parsnips), nutmeg and citron melons, scarlet runner beans, ground cherries, walking or Egyptian onions, and Jerusalem artichokes. Please view the museum's online blog to learn more about artichokes. The fencing was part of another Boy Scout Eagle project and the garden is maintained by a museum volunteer.

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. 

Colonial Garden

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.  The Forsythes used the outbuilding to store farm tools and equipment. "Sis" Forsythe Robinson sketched out the shed and its layout, which included a slate wall. The interior of the shed included a full-length work bench and two walls for hanging tools. Adjacent to the shed was a flower garden. The property also had a dirt drive that ran through the front of the property to the fields, located between the tool shed and the barn, likely the current low lying area between the two structures.

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. 

Tool Shed

The barn associated with the Morgan Log House property is no longer standing and only a stone and cement foundation and a circa 1940 concrete silo remains. The barn likely dated to the late nineteenth century to early twentieth century and was likely a bank barn. We believe this because of the amount of banked soil at the rear of the site and the size of the ruin. Barns increased their size at this time to accommodate the increase of diary farming, which became popular due to dairy technology improvements, refrigeration, and pasteurization.  The barn included a small attached milk house on the south elevation and a chicken coop on the north elevation. A stone-walled barn yard was on the east elevation. A sketch of the barn by "Sis" Forsythe Robinson shows the interior layout. The family that lived on the property from 1933 to 1936, the Forsythes, were tenants who documented their time on the property with photographs and an oral history. Family recalled operating a dairy out of the barn with John Forsythe, the father, transporting the milk to Lehigh Valley Dairy in Lansdale. They also recalled having to install a cement floor in the barn to meet dairy regulations at the time, which can still be seen. The farm in 1933 did not have electricity, running water, or indoor toilets. The family grew vegetables, hay, grapes, and apples while Mr. Forsythe had additional employment at the Budd Company at 22nd and Allegheny Avenues in Philadelphia to support the family. The farm had five cows, three horses, ducks, chickens, and rabbits. They sold milk to Lehigh Valley Dairy from their Holsteins and rabbits likely to market in Lansdale. The family occasionally slaughtered chickens and ducks for market. The family had to fertilize the fields since the fields had been depleted and had not been worked for a time. By the time they left in 1936, the family was producing better crops. They likely used the manure from their cows and chickens to fertilize their fields, much like neighbor William Leister frequently did, which he recorded in his diaries. Mr. Leister's farm was located at the corner of Allentown and Weikel roads intersect, on the current site of Schwenkfeld Manor. The silo was likely constructed around 1940, after the Forsyth family's occupation, since their photographs do not show the structure. Silos were used to store grain or corn, which was an increasing need for farms that had dairy cows, which fed on the grain. However, it was used only for a short period, when the barn deteriorated and the local fire department used it for practice. This removed the wooden structure of the barn and much of the stone and cement material. The barn site is currently fenced off due to the varied conditions of the barn foundation. The fencing was part of a Boy Scout Eagle project, to protect the site. In the fall of 2018, the Morgan Log House received a grant from the Bee Cause Project, installing two bee hives within the fenced area. The museum uses the hives and honey for community educational purposes.

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.

Barn ruins

The Morgan Log House was a farm for over 200 years and its fields were located west of the house. These fields were later sold and developed in the 1960s with mid-century (1970s) housing mostly seen along Stonybrook Lane from the museum. The last 17 acres were sold in 1965 to developer William Nash, including the house at this time, which was vacant and derelict. We do not know what was grown within the fields by the Morgans, Evan David, John Yeakle, or Yellis Cassel, since there are no records that have survived. However, we do know what later farmers cultivated. The Pennsylvania Agricultural Census, taken in 1850, 1880, and 1927, documented farms across the state. We can see what Henry Cassel, the grandson of Yellis, and Frederick Bower, later owner were cultivating and had on their farm. The 62-acre Morgan Log House farm was owned by Henry Cassel in 1850, the third generation of the family to do so. Henry was recorded as having a farm of 50 improved acres and 12 unimproved acres with a total value of $2,600 and $200 worth of farming implements. On his farm, he had 2 horses, 8 milk cows, 1 “other cattle” possibly a bull, 3 swine or pigs, which totaled to a value of $200. He had slaughtered livestock worth $75. Crop production included wheat (20 bushels), rye (75 bushels), Indian corn (75 bushels), oats (30 bushels), Irish potatoes (50 bushels), and hay (20 tons). The farm produced 650 pounds of butter from his dairy cows.  Henry Cassel’s neighbors had similar livestock and crops on their farms. Sheep and mules were noted in the census, but Henry Cassel was not recorded as owning any, nor growing rice, peas or beans, sweet potatoes, barley, buckwheat, orchard fruit, grapes, or tobacco. Wool, cotton, and cheese were also not common products made in the township.  Henry Cassel’s farm was a little above average in acreage and production. The township was recorded having 136 farm owners or agents within its boundaries. The majority of these farms were owner-operated and produced a variety of crops and livestock. The average farm in Towamencin Township in 1850 contained 46 acres with 12.3 unimproved acres, a farm value of $2,661.69, and farm implements worth $174.70. The livestock averages for the township were 2.3 horses, 5.8 milk cows, 2.4 other cattle, 1.5 sheep, 3.5 swine with an average of livestock total value of $245.97. The farm was lower than the township average for the following: wheat (42.8 bushels), Indian corn (104.4 bushels), Oats (98.9 bushels), Irish potatoes (27.4 bushels), and butter (678.4 pounds). The farm was above-average for rye (67.2 bushels), buckwheat (8.2 bushels), and hay (17 tons). Cane sugar, cotton, hemp, hops, maple sugar, molasses, rice, silk cocoons, sweet potato, and tobacco were not cultivated on area farms, but were recorded in the national census. However, a few area farms produced barley, cheese, clover seed other seed grass, flax and flax seed, honey and wax, orchard produce, peas and beans, wine, and wool. The Morgan Log House property, by 1902 or so, became a tenant farm that was rented out by owners living in Philadelphia to tenants living and farming the property. Tenants farmed the property, but little is known of them except for the Forsythe family, who rented the farm between 1933 and 1936. According to "Sis" Forsythe Robinson, the fields were used to grow hay, corn, and soy beans.

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.

Fields

A framed duck house was located west of the Morgan Log House dwelling, along the southern fence line of the property. It was a raised, narrow, framed structure with a gabled roof, a pedestrian door, and duck access. The structure was used by the Forsythe family to house their ducks that were raised for market in nearby markets in Lansdale, between 1933 and 1936. It is unknown the age of the structure, but it was likely demolished during the 1970s restoration of the dwelling. A sketch of the structure was drawn by "Sis" Forsythe Robinson as part of her oral history.

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.

Duck House

The meadow, located south of the Morgan Log House dwelling, served multiple uses. It included on its southeastern end, a springhouse. A pond was also located within the meadow, but it was filled in by Towamencin Township, to eliminate safety concerns. Pictures from the 1930s Forsythe family occupation, shows the pond, springhouse, and cows, which were pastured there as well. An orchard is believed to have been located further south of the meadow, which provided fruit to the farm. Currently a Native American garden is located at the north side of the meadow. The museum has also used the meadow for programming events; currently, garden plots were set up for expanded educational programming by a Boy Scout Eagle Scout project (2020).

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.

Meadow

A one-story, gabled, rectangular, stone building with a wood-shingle roof was used as a springhouse near the Towamencin Creek tributary and Weikel Road. It was demolished sometime after the 1970s restoration in order to widen Weikel Road and replace the creek culvert. It is unknown the age of the springhouse. The Forsythe family stored milk and other perishables in the springhouse. Sis Forsythe Robinson recalled seeing snakes in the building and in her sketch details that the entry required crouching. Upon entering the building, a stone island allowed for standing in the center of the structure between spring water troughs that contained submerged jars of perishables for colder refrigeration. Stone shelves on the walls also stored additional jars of perishables.

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.

Springhouse

"Sis" Forsythe, in her oral history and site map, details what was in the backyard of the farm during the 1930s. It is unknown what the farm may have looked like prior to the Forsythes, but similar wooden outbuildings likely existed. An outhouse was located southwest of the house, approximately in the area of the current shed. A duck house was located several feet east of the outhouse, along a the fence line (not the current fence, which was installed in the 1980s). Further north from the ducks, was a vegetable garden. North of the garden, was a grape arbor, corn crib, and a two-story pigeon house. The grape arbor was likely used to grow the fruit for the family and market, but home wine-making was popular. The corn crib, a wooden structure to house corn, was a precursor to the modern silo that housed grain for the farm's cows. A dirt drive, opening onto Weikel Road, provided access to the interior of the farm and traveled westward to the rear of the farm. Crop fields were located west of the backyard and were cultivated with hay, corn, and soy beans.

Morgan Log House Walking Tour

Backyard

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information