BY MARIA HERNE
08/03/2006
HAMBURG — The Hamburg Our
Town Foundation has created a walking tour for residents and
visitors to discover the borough’s rich heritage through its
architecture. The project, funded by a
$4,500 grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission,
contains a map that lists and provides historical information on
more than 50 of Hamburg’s oldest and most prestigious buildings,
including The American House, a tavern/hotel at 2 N. Fourth St.,
which dates back to 1813, and 17 S. Fourth St., which dates back
to 1779 and was reputed to be a safe haven for slaves traveling
the Underground Railroad.
The research was done by Janet Barr and other
members of the Hamburg Area Historical Society and the brochure
was designed by Eric Armusik,
a Hamburg resident and local artist, said Deena Kershner, program
manager of the Our Town Foundation.
“We hope that this guide will bring a
greater appreciation of the rich history we have here in Hamburg,
not just for visitors to our area, but our local people as well,
and to inspire our property owners to invest in their community
by preserving the architectural heritage of their buildings,”
Kershner said.
About 10.000 brochures were produced and are now available, at no
charge, at the Our Town Office, 8 S. Fourth St., the Hamburg Area
Historical Society, 102 State St., the visitor kiosk at Cabela’s,
and many businesses in the downtown area, she said.
According to researchers at the Hamburg Area
Historical Society, the history of Hamburg can be traced back to
the 1700s. It was once known as Kaercher Stadt or Kaerchertown after
its founder, Martin Kaercher Jr., who was deeded the area on which
the town was built in 1779. He received the 250-acre plot of land
from his father.
The name “Hamburg” was adopted from the town of Hamburg,
Germany, since many of Hamburg’s first inhabitants were German.
The town was incorporated in 1837 and its main streets were paved
around 1914.
The area began to grow with the construction of the Centre Turnpike
in 1812 between Reading and Pottsville.
After the opening of the Schuylkill Canal in 1820 and the railroad
that came soon after, Hamburg experienced a time of great prosperity,
with many mills, factories and foundries being built in the 19th
and 20th centuries and the town’s population increasing to
about 4,000.
This boom time happened during a period in architecture
when ornamentation was popular, and many of the older buildings
were built in the Victorian style, Armusik said.
“Families of wealth built these large, beautiful homes, sparing
no expense in their construction,” Armusik said.
The material was excellent in quality and meant to be durable, permanent,
but also rich in ornamentation and detail, with elaborate window
cornices, gables, dormers, tin ceilings, stained glass, brickwork,
porticos and ironwork, he said.
Kay Greenawalt, who runs a State Farm Insurance business at her
property at 124 S. Third St., recently repainted her historic property
in heritage colors.
The two-story building, once an oyster house and general store,
still has the original iron exterior posts, old-fashioned sidewalk
portico and light fixtures and is featured in the guide.
“I love history,” Greenawalt said. “I want to
do whatever I can to keep this building preserved.”
©The REPUBLICAN & Herald 2006
- Article used with permission
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