Category: History
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Regina Leininger, a German girl captive of the French & Indian War
Read more: Regina Leininger, a German girl captive of the French & Indian WarOn the very western edge of Berks County sits Christ Lutheran Church in Stouchburg. The stone church was built in 1786 and most well-known for being the location of the grave of Regina Leininger. Her story doesn’t begin in Berks County. In 1755, 9-year-old Regina was living along Penn’s Creek near what is now Selinsgrove,…
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431-449 Penn Street; Its fate, my thoughts
Read more: 431-449 Penn Street; Its fate, my thoughtsThis is my attempt at summarizing the saga that has been the city’s ownership of the properties on the northwest corner of 5th and Penn. Specifically, 431-449 Penn Street, which was comprised of 5 buildings of historic nature located within the Callowhill Historic District in the City of Reading. The City purchased these structures in…
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Hoch High Cemetery
Read more: Hoch High CemeteryIn the shadow of the Western Berks Landfill lies the Hoch Cemetery. Situated in Cumru Township, on High Hill – a peninsula made by the bend in the Schuykill River. This 400 acres was once part of Poplar Neck Farm, which was established by Samuel Hoch in 1745. Samuel was the grandson of Rudolph Hoch…
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Key to the City of Reading
Read more: Key to the City of ReadingToday is my 8th wedding anniversary and my husband always tries to stay on the traditional “theme” by year. This year is bronze, and I had been eyeing this Reading “Key to the City” on Ebay for a few weeks. It was listed at $250, which was more than I was willing to pay. Luckily…
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Staufer Building – 62 S. 6th Street
Read more: Staufer Building – 62 S. 6th StreetThe Staufer Building at 62 South 6th Street was constructed in Romanesque-style in 1897 by William M. Staufer. A large portion of the upper floors were devoted to the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, who utilized the space to house young unemployed women who needed safe accommodations. A November 17th, 1897 Reading Eagle article about the…
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Stirling Mansion, the Sternbergh Estate
Read more: Stirling Mansion, the Sternbergh EstateAt 1120 Centre Avenue sits the Stirling Mansion, crown jewel of the Sternbergh Estate; one of Reading’s most extravagant industrial-era homes. It was built for iron and steel industrialist James Hervey Sternbergh, who constructed the estate on land that was in 1890 rural Centre Park. Built in Châteauesque-style based on French revivalist architecture; the home…
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Turner Building – 100 South 4th Street
Read more: Turner Building – 100 South 4th StreetThere has been a bit of drama recently surrounding the property at 100 South 4th Street in Reading. The property was purchased in 2021 by Dream Ventures PA II LLC, front for Brooklyn-based developer Heights Advisors. This is the same investment company which currently owns the Luden Mansion/Central Catholic and the Santander office building at…
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Reading News Building Facade
Read more: Reading News Building FacadeThe Reading News building and its facade were constructed in 1912 for a brand new print publication at 22-24 North Fifth Street. In April 1912 the property, described as a three-story dwelling house, was purchased by local developer Wiliam A. Sharp. It is likely that Sharp was in charge of developing the structure into one…
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Nolde and Horst Knitting Mill
Read more: Nolde and Horst Knitting MillTextile was Reading and greater Berks County’s largest industry by the turn of the 20th century. Nearly every small community had some sort of hosiery mill, and headquartered in Reading was Nolde and Horst, the largest of them all. Three German immigrants, Jacob Nolde, George and John Horst chartered “Nolde and Horst Company” with the…
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City Park Fallout Shelter
Read more: City Park Fallout ShelterReading’s City Park Fallout Shelter has long been the subject of mystery. The shelter’s entrance is located along Constitution Boulevard, directly next to the city’s greenhouse. The doors have been locked tight for the past few decades. A relic of an era when the ever present threat of nuclear annihilation swept our nation; perhaps you…
