There is a dense, dark atmosphere on the windy roads that once led to old sanatoriums that graced the wooded South Mountain below Wernersville. If you have ever driven around up there after nightfall you probably know what I mean. The mountain is rich with history, but the oldest and some of the most frightening surrounds the Grand View Sanatorium.
Grand-View was the oldest health retreat on the mountain, dating back to 1847 when it was founded by Dr.… Read Full Article
The Fairgrounds Square Mall has itself become a ghost. It was just demolished over what will inevitably go down as the infamous Summer of 2020. The mall was on its last leg for years, and it only seemed fitting that it would meet its end in such a year as this one has been. However, if you spent any time working there over the course of its 40 year existence, you may have heard or seen things you couldn’t explain.… Read Full Article
If you have ever driven south on Route 10 and crested Green Tree Hill, you may have noticed a quiet old mansion sitting back in the shadows behind the rehab hospital. Maybe you have wondered what the story behind it is.
The mansion was built in 1925 by Isaac Eberly, owner of Oakbrook Hosiery Mill. He was born in a log cabin in Gibraltar in 1880.… Read Full Article
Josiah Dives was born in 1851 in Chartham, Kent, England. He started his business career after moving to London at the age of 13 following his Father’s death. When coming to America in 1872, his first residence was Hartford, CT. This is where he met George Pomeroy and John Stewart. Together they came to Reading and founded Dives, Pomeroy, and Stewart Deptartment Store, which later became known as just “Pomeroy’s”. … Read Full Article
Last week I received an email from a Tara Colton saying she acquired a large cabinet that has “Property of the Berkshire Knitting Mills” stamped on the bottom of it. She is hoping to find out a little more about the cabinet and what it was used for at the knitting mill.
She is currently in the process of refinishing the piece.… Read Full Article