The Berks County Heritage Center consists of four pages.Page one: Berks County Heritage Center
Page two: Civil War Encampment 1999.
Page three: Heritage Festival.
Page Four: Civil War Encampment 2000.
Please visit all four pages.
The Berks County Heritage Center is located at 2201 Tulpehocken RoadWyomissing, Pa. 19610
The Center houses The Gruber Wagon Works; The C. Howard Canal Center; Wertz's (Red) Bridge; The Salad and Herb Garden; The Deppen Cemetery; Melcher's Grist Mill and The Reeser Farm House.The Reeser Farm House was purchased in 1774 by Abraham Reeser. It had 55 acres of land. It was farmed by verious owners until 1978. It is now used as the information center.
These wagons are on desplay inside the Heritage Center.
The Gruber Wagon Works
Erected in 1882 by Franklin H. Gruber. It was a family business which employed up to twenty men. It was located in Mt. Pleasent, Pa. until 1976 when it was relocated to the Heritage Center due to the making of Blue Marsh Dam.
Franklin H. Gruber
The C. Howard Hiester Canal Center houses over 1,400 items and artifacts for the Schuylkill Navigation Company.
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Wertz's (Red) Bridge is the longest spanned covered bridge in Pennsylvania. Stretching across the Tulpehocken Creek at a span of 204 feet. It was erected in 1867and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The Salad and Herb Garden. Types of plants from our European settlers grown during the early 1800's.
The Deppen Cemetery was located at Mt. Pleasent and moved to the Heritage Center in 1976 due to the building of Blue Marsh Dam. Several Irish workers building the Union Canal died of "Swamp Fever" are buried here.
Melcher's Grist Mill was built in 1888 for Nicklos Melcher. Unlike most mills, this was used to serve the needs of the farm it was located on.
Inside the mill.
The Mildred Houseboat was built in the late 1800's. It was located at the foot of South 6th Street in Reading, Pa. being used to haul coal.Around 1912, Arthur McCarter, a Reading grocer converted it into a houseboat.
Later, C. Howard Hiester bought the boat and used it for storage.
Inside the houseboat.
The Distlefink represents Pennsylvania German Folk Art.
Go to the next page for the Civil War Encampment.
