Montco History Passport | Valley Forge Experiences

Montco History Passport

Expiration: May 7th 2027

The legacy of George Washington and the Revolutionary War runs deep in Valley Forge and Montgomery County, and here today, you can explore the historical sites that commemorate the war and early Pennsylvania history.

Check in at each location to earn points and win prizes.

Included Venues

See locations on an interactive map.

1732 Gemeinhaus

On November 12, 1730, Old Goshenhoppen Church was found as a “Union Church” consisting of two congregations, one Lutheran and the other Reformed. In early 1732, Michael Reiher of the Lutheran congregation, and Jacob Keller of the Reformed, traveled to Philadelphia to jointly purchase a tract of land, in what is known today as the Woxall area of Upper Salford Township, for the purpose of constructing a temporary Gemeinhaus. The 1732 log Gemeinhaus was then used as a schoolhouse for the local children and housing for the schoolteacher, who also served as the organist until the current parish house (parsonage) was built in 1846 as a residence for the schoolteacher, later the sexton, and finally the pastor. As time passed, the old log Gemeinhaus was no longer used as a school and, in the early 1900’s, became the meeting place for the Ladies Aid Society

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Goschenhoppen Museum

Take a step back in time at the Goschenhoppen Folklife Museum, Library, and Country Store. The museum, set in Goschenhoppen, one of the oldest continuously existing Pennsylvania German communities in America, houses exhibits and examples of 18th century immigrant living.

Graeme Park

Graeme Park is a 42-acre historic park, featuring the Keith House, the only surviving residence of a Colonial Pennsylvania Governor. The mansion has remained virtually intact since the late 18th century. A visit to Graeme Park is nature trails, a picnic lunch, and a visit with the politicians, physicians, patriots, loyalists, poets, and writers who frequented the Keith House.

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Harriton House

Harriton House, originally known as Bryn Mawr, is a historic house on the Philadelphia Main Line, most famously the residence of Founding Father Charles Thomson, the secretary of the Continental Congress. It was originally built in 1704 by Rowland Ellis, a Welsh Quaker, and was called Bryn Mawr, meaning high hill.

Henry Antes Plantation

Designed and built by Henry Antes in 1736, the Antes House is an excellent example of early German colonial construction and design. The house was the site of frequent evangelical and political meetings held to promote understanding among colonists of different religions, cultures, and races. The Moravian school established here is recognized as one of the first interracial nonsectarian schools in the state of Pennsylvania.

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Historic Trappe - Dewees Tavern

The Dewees Tavern is home to the Center for Pennsylvania German Studies, which includes five galleries that display a wide range of furniture, fraktur, redware, metalwork, textiles, and more. The Center also houses a research library and archives focusing on local history, genealogy, and decorative arts.

Historic Trappe - Muhlenberg House

Henry Melchior Muhlenberg House, also known as the John J. Schrack House, is a historic home located at Trappe, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The house was built about 1755, and is a 2+1⁄2-story, five bay, stone dwelling with a gable roof. This was the period of residency by Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg (1711-1787), patriarch of the Lutheran Church in the United States, and father of Peter Muhlenberg (1746-1807) and Frederick Muhlenberg (1750-1801). Also on the property are the remains of a pottery kiln dated to about 1720. It is the oldest intact pottery kiln known in Pennsylvania.

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Historic Trappe - Speaker's House

Born in Trappe in 1750, Frederick Muhlenberg is best known as the first Speaker of the U.S. House of representatives. He was also a pivotal figure in local history, serving as the first president judge, recorder of deeds, and register of wills when Montgomery County was established in 1784. For several years his home in Trappe was a de facto center of government, until Norristown became the official county seat.

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Hope Lodge

Hope Lodge was built between 1743 and 1748 by Samuel Morris, a prosperous Quaker entrepreneur. Morris acted as a farmer, ship owner, miller, iron-master, shop-owner, and owner of the mill now known as Mather Mill. Hope Lodge is an excellent example of early Georgian architecture, and it is possible that Edmund Woolley, architect of Independence Hall, offered advice in building. Samuel Morris owned the estate until his death in 1770, when it was inherited by his brother Joshua. Joshua in turn sold the property and dwelling to another Philadelphia merchant, William West.

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Morgan Log House

Reflecting the lifestyle of early pioneers of Pennsylvania, The Morgan Log House is a meticulously restored example of domestic architecture. The land originally owned and farmed by Daniel Boone’s grandparents, Edward and Elizabeth Morgan, Welsh Quakers, the Morgan Log House is currently administered by the Welsh Valley Preservation Society for Towamencin Township, and exhibits many fine examples of fine antique furniture, metals, household implements and colonial period decorative arts from the early Welsh and Germanic Traditions of Pennsylvania. Today, this National Historic Site is open for tours, special programs, and on-going research opportunities.

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Pennypacker Mills

Pennypacker Mills is an unusually well documented historic site where you can see what it was like to live in the early 1900s. With a unique original collection, the mansion is fully furnished with antiques collected and documented by former Pennsylvania Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker reflecting his interests in early Pennsylvania history, German and Dutch settlers, native Americans, the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. The collection also includes Governor Pennypacker’s political (1903 - 1907), genealogical and personal papers.

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Peter Wentz Farmstead

Peter and Rosanna Wentz settled here in 1744 and by 1758 had built their English Georgian style house with many features reflecting their German heritage. The American Revolution moved into the area during the autumn of 1777 and the Wentz home became temporary headquarters for General George Washington and his staff. After the war Peter Wentz sold the farm to Devault Beiber and in 1794 Schwenkfelder Reverend Melchior Schultz and his family bought it.

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Pottsgrove Manor

Built in 1752 for the Potts family, the home showcases the elegance of early Georgian architecture and tells the history of John and Ruth Potts, their 13 children, and the paid, indentured, and enslaved people who lived and labored here. Guided tours share the stories of successful ironmaster John Potts- the founder of Pottstown, Justice of the Peace, Judge on the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, elected representative of both Berks and Philadelphia Counties to the Pennsylvania General Assembly- with engaging and researched interpretation of Pottsgrove Manor as the family's home and headquarters.

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Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center

The Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center offers visitors of all ages ways to learn about life in the Perkiomen Valley of Montgomery County and about the history of the Schwenkfelders. Schwenkfelders were a Protestant group heavily persecuted in Europe that immigrated here in the early 1700s seeking religious freedom. In our museum, visitors will see looms and lathes, paintings and plows, chests and cider presses—all various household furnishings and farm tools from the 1700s through the early 1900s, including an 1826 barn. Researchers in the library can trace their genealogy, and scholars will be amazed by 16th century religious manuscripts and printed materials in the collection. We offer youth and family activities as well as special exhibit, events, and art shows.

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Sunrise Mill

For over 250 years, Sunrise Mill has stood on the banks of Swamp Creek. It has been a gristmill, sawmill, business, residence, art studio, medical workshop, and more. Built in 1767, Sunrise Mill tells the combined stories of agriculture and industry in this area over time. Today, visitors will see and explore the recently restored gristmill, set up to reflect its use by the last owners, the Jackson family, from the 1920s through the 1940s. While here, they will learn about the mill's most prominent owner, Dr. Chevalier Q. Jackson, a physician who helped establish modern endoscopic medicine and whose work saved thousands of lives, and the unique ways he utilized the property and gristmill.

Grounds Access

Monday - CLOSED

Tuesday-Saturday 10am-4pm

Sunday 1pm-4pm

Visitor Center and Gristmill Tours

Friday-Saturday 10am-4pm

Tours of the gristmill begin on the hour, with the last tour at 3pm.

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Valley Forge National Historical Park

Valley Forge is the encampment site of the Continental Army during the winter of 1777-1778. The park features 3,500 acres of monuments, meadows, and woodlands commemorating the sacrifices and perseverance of the Revolutionary War generation and honoring the power of people to pull together and overcome adversity during extraordinary times.

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