Perkasie Historical Society

04/02/2026

Last evening on April 1, 2026, Perkasie Fire Company No.1 marked the 100th Anniversary of tragic in line of duty death of two of it's members; Jacob Crouthamel and Willis Sames. There was a presentation, dinner and parade to the site of the accident. A plaque was unveiled to be placed near the site.

03/31/2026

Thursday, April 2nd is the last day to make your dinner reservations for our April 7th meeting!

In recognition of America's 250th Anniversary, the next Perkasie Historical Society meeting topic will be "Support the Revolutionary War: The Bucks County Committee of Observation and their efforts to organize the townships.” on Tuesday, ApriI 7th,

Historian Amy Hollander shares the stories of Bucks County's patriotic leaders and their efforts to organize the townships, militias and the residents for the patriotic cause.

If you are planning to join us for dinner, reservations are required.

The Perkasie Historical Society has regular dinner meetings featuring a speaker or program. Meetings are held at 6:30 pm at the St. Stephen's UCC, 110 N. 6th Street, Perkasie, Pennsylvania.
​​​
Dinners are $15, payable at the door. To better serve our members and guests, reservations for dinner meetings are required. Reservations are necessary to be made by 5PM Thursday, April 2, 2026.

Please call Pat Gahman (215) 257-9624 to reserve your seat.
If the need arises, please be considerate and cancel your dinner reservation before 5PM.

Map reference: 1600 - 1900 A map of that part of Bucks County Timeline of Bucks County History, Mercer Museum

03/27/2026

Our newest addition to the Perkasie Historical Society Self-Guided Walking Tour is "'Perkasie Christmas House” formerly John Freed House."

https://www.perkasiehistory.org/perkasie-christmas-house-formerly-john-freed-house.html

For more on our Self-Guided Walking tour, please visit our website.

“Perkasie Christmas House” formerly John Freed House

03/25/2026

It' wouldn't be baseball season without the late Jim Pritchard reciting "Casey at the Bat."

Please enjoy our You Tube video from the April 2009 Perkasie Historical Society Meeting.

Visit this video as well as others on our various playlists : https://www.youtube.com//playlists

https://youtu.be/Bn8QEklZXCc?si=LFE_L5ezSDuw7DXM

Jim Pritchard reciting "Casey at the Bat" April 2009 Perkasie Historical Society Meeting.Perkasie Historical Society Archives

03/22/2026

Our newest addition to our Memories of Perkasie is "Daub's Ice Dams."

Jacob Daub owned a grocery store and pretzel bakery on West Walnut Street where the borough parking lot is currently located. The store opened during the 1890’s, a time when ice was used as a means of refrigeration.
Needing a source of ice, Jacob Daub constructed two ponds in 1899 on his property behind his store. During the winter when the ponds were frozen, ice could be cut and stored in ice houses constructed on the pond banks. In 1901, Daub had 500 tons of ice available for use in his store and for the retail ice delivery business that he established.

​After the ponds were not used for ice harvesting, local residents began ice skating on them. The late Jim Snyder, who lived on South Fifth Street, noted that if he could see a fire burning alongside the pond, he knew people were skating.

Eventually, much of the property where the ponds were located was purchased by truck mirror manufacturer, Delbar Products. The dams were removed and the ponds emptied. Today the site of the ice ponds is part of The Delbar Apartments parking lot.

Images:
-circa 1900's Daub's Dam & Highland Gas Company - image from Perkasie Historical Society: J. Snyder Collection
-1901 July 11 Central News Daub's Ice advertisement
-Site of Daub;s Dam with former Highland Gas Company building in background-2026 Perkasie Historical Society archives

For more on this and other "Memories of Perkasie," please visit our website:
https://www.perkasiehistory.org/memoriesofperkasie

03/21/2026

Happy Birthday Alex!

Alex is currently working for PA 250 , helping celebrate America's 250th Birthday.
Some may recognize Alex, as he volunteered with the Perkasie Historical Society and helped us with our Community Day Historical Trolley Tour and Perkasie Walking Self-Guided Tour QR codes.

Happy Birthday to our Staff Assistant, Alex Fulp!🥳

If you’ve been part of a Keystone Classroom Initiative, stopped by a Mobile Unit activation, or celebrated PA Day with us, chances are you’ve seen Alex in action—or benefitted from the work he’s quietly putting in behind the scenes. From helping us reach 50,000 students across Pennsylvania to jumping in the car to celebrate a local festival, Alex shows up.

Whether he’s supporting projects, stepping outside his comfort zone for an on-camera interview, or making sure his friend The Keystone Kid has what they need, Alex is always ready to help—and always trying to get it right.

Have a great day and an even better year, Alex!🎈

#2026

03/20/2026

Happy Spring!

Sharing the "Signs of Spring" clipping from the Central News, March 19, 1936 "Signs of Spring by A_B_Chapin"

03/17/2026

In recognition of America's 250th Anniversary, the next Perkasie Historical Society meeting topic will be "Support the Revolutionary War: The Bucks County Committee of Observation and their efforts to organize the townships.” on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.

Historian Amy Hollander shares the stories of Bucks County's patriotic leaders and their efforts to organize the townships, militias and the residents for the patriotic cause.

If you are planning to join us for dinner, reservations are required.

The Perkasie Historical Society has regular dinner meetings featuring a speaker or program. Meetings are held at 6:30 pm at the St. Stephen's UCC, 110 N. 6th Street, Perkasie, Pennsylvania.
​​​
Dinners are $15, payable at the door. To better serve our members and guests, reservations for dinner meetings are required. Reservations are necessary to be made by 5PM Thursday, April 2, 2026.

Please call Pat Gahman (215) 257-9624 to reserve your seat.
If the need arises, please be considerate and cancel your dinner reservation before 5PM.

Map reference: 1600 - 1900 A map of that part of Bucks County Timeline of Bucks County History, Mercer Museum

03/06/2026

Our newest addition to the Perkasie Historical Society Self-Guided Walking Tour is "GTR Welding formerly Highland Gas Company"

In 1911 Highland Gas Company constructed this building to manufacture gas used for cooking and heating. Gas was manufactured by heating coal or oil to produce flammable gas.

The building had three sections for generating, purifying, and compressing. A 44-foot-tall gas holding tank was constructed just south of the building. Gas manufacturing ended by the 1930’s when a natural gas pipeline to Perkasie was completed.

Highland Gas Company eventually became part of U.G. I. Company.

​The building was sold to Perkasie Borough Authority in 1968 for use as an office and maintenance shop. Since the mid-1990’s the building has been home to GTR Welding.

Images:
- March 29, 1911, Central News "Improvements: Highland Gas Company Building Central News"
-1913 Sanborn Walnut Street Highland Gas Works
-2025 GTR Welding - Rick Doll image

For this and more locations on the Perkasie Historical Society Self-Guided Walking Tour visit our website:
https://www.perkasiehistory.org/perkasieselfguidedwalkingtour.html

https://www.perkasiehistory.org/gtr-welding-formerly-highland-gas-company.html

03/04/2026

Thank you to Donna and Ray Conville for sharing their collection of Valentines dating back to the 17th century with the historical society.

We learned about early Valentines Day and how cards progressed over time and their reflection of love and period culture.

Handmade personal valentines transitioned to layered handmade designs, to manufactured and even those featuring cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse and Popeye.

Rude, cruel and insulting Valentines, known as Vinegar Valentines, was a surprise learning.

02/25/2026

Tomorrow, Thursday, February 26, 2026, is the last day to make your dinner reservations!

Our next Perkasie Historical Society meeting topic will be “The History of Valentines Day and a Collection of Valentines through the years” presented by Donna and Ray Conville is Tuesday March 3, 2026

If you are planning to join us for dinner, reservations are required.

The Perkasie Historical Society has regular dinner meetings featuring a speaker or program. Meetings are held at 6:30 pm at the St. Stephen's UCC, 110 N. 6th Street, Perkasie, Pennsylvania.
​​​
Dinners are $15, payable at the door. To better serve our members and guests, reservations for dinner meetings are required. Reservations are necessary to be made by 5PM Thursday February 26, 2026.

Please call Pat Gahman (215) 257-9624 to reserve your seat.
If the need arises, please be considerate and cancel your dinner reservation before 5PM.


Image: Vintage nautical stand-up valentine

02/23/2026

Thanks to Ken Heitz for going out into the cold and taking these great snow photographs.