Souderton Telford Historical Society

01/10/2026

When the fire siren blares, we are fortunate to have volunteers jump into action to protect us. But having those resources on call didn’t happen overnight. In Souderton, it took years of community effort — and a few close calls — before the Perseverance Fire Company No. 1 was organized. Our new Gazette revisits this history on the occasion of the company’s 125th anniversary. https://tinyurl.com/3pn8b8hj (Souderton Independent, Nov. 13, 1891)

29/09/2026

Towamencin may see the loss of one of its oldest buildings.

The Joseph Lukens house on Sumneytown Pike across from Troxel Road served as a tavern from at least 1762 (and perhaps earlier) until 1844. It is possible that the door on the gable end of the house facing Sumneytown Pike was built as an entrance to the tavern part of the house. If the tavern was part of the original design, it is possible that it served as a tavern from the time it was built ca. 1740. 1762 is the earliest record of payment to the Province of Pennsylvania for a tavern license. The ledger of tavern license payments was kept by the secretary of the Province up until the beginning of the Revolution.

Joseph Lukens received ownership of the property from his father in 1735, the same year that Sumneytown Pike was constructed over an old Lenape path. Commercial wagon traffic and the usual inn clientele probably disappeared by the mid-1840s, because of the appearance of the railroads.

27/09/2026

The Souderton-Telford Historical Society would like to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to everyone who came out for the grave rededication for Servatus Brey on Saturday. We especially wish to thank Jerusalem Lutheran Church, the reenactors - and most importantly - LimeWorks (https://www.limeworks.us/) for its generous help in restoring the grave stones of Servatus and his wife. A more detailed story will be coming later this Fall.

Shown below is a photo of the graveside salute; and descendants of Servatus and Lucinda.

25/09/2026

Readers: The Servatus Brey grave rededication is still on for Saturday! If the weather is too bad, we will hold most of the event inside the church Fellowship Hall. (Thank you, Jerusalem Lutheran!)
Hope to see you all there!

19/09/2026

To our faithful readers:
Please see this important event announcement, below. Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend next Saturday! You can also read more about Servatus Brey in our newsletter from May/June 2024 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ClBiX_Cdpx2qph6YF7FCSP2p4qmfukPF/view?usp=drive_link

03/09/2026

The corner of 3rd Street and Erie Ave in Telford, has seen numerous changes over the years. Here are several views of the same corner. Which one is familiar?

31/08/2026

To all our faithful readers, if you have not already done so, we encourage you all to take some time and listen to Mayor of Souderton Dan Yocum's interview series called "Souderton Legends". These are all fascinating people and stories, and Dan has prepared for them extremely well. Bravo, Mr Mayor!

21/08/2026

The historical society is proud to have partnered with American Legion Post 234 and with the family of Warren Royer to create a new "Hometown Heroes" banner - now newly hung along Main Street in front of the Post that bears his name. Please take a look in your travels; and read Warren Royer's story in our Nov 2024 Gazette.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fqwdNlqOmtqGjCfNukmd1tCHKssHEgoW/view?usp=sharing

https://www.wrpost234.com/about-2

19/08/2026

Last evening the Beautification Committee of Souderton Connects had a group come out to North Front Street for clean up efforts. We were happy to work with them to help out. Not sure that this bunch did much to "beautify" anything however! :-)

13/08/2026

At this year's Goschenhoppen Folk Festival, the Goschenhoppen Historians were pleased to present the 2026 Annual Award for Scholarship to Douglas J. Madenford, recognizing his dedication to researching, preserving, and sharing Pennsylvania Dutch culture.

Born and raised on a small farm near Centerport in Berks County, Doug grew up hearing both English and Pennsylvania Dutch at home. His interest in language and culture led him to earn a certificate in German literature and linguistics at the Universität Paderborn in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He went on to earn bachelor's degrees in German and international studies from Lock Haven University, and a Master of Education degree in German from Millersville University. He is the only American to ever win the "Emichsburg Prize" given annually in Bad Dürkheim, Germany, for the preservation of the Pfälzisch dialect, of which PA Dutch is closely related.

Since 2008, Doug has taught history and German in the Keystone Central School District. He has also served as a lecturer of German at Penn State's Altoona and Main campuses, and since 2015 he has served as co-editor of Hiwwe wie Driwwe.

His scholarship includes several books, among them Homecoming, Davey Applebutter, Penny Olive, An Introductory Pennsylvania Dutch Course, and a collection of short stories in Pennsylvania Dutch, all published by Masthof Press in Morgantown. He has also written numerous articles for Hiwwe wie Driwwe and presented many papers at grundsau lodges.

Doug's YouTube channel, PA Dutch 101, has 15,000 subscribers and over 1,500 videos, which introduce audiences to Pennsylvania Dutch words and usage and interview individuals dedicated to preserving the culture.

Doug's work extends to music. He performs folk songs in both English and Pennsylvania Dutch, singing and playing mandolin with his small folk band, The Broken Spokes.

Outside of his scholarship, Doug is a father and husband, and an avid motorcyclist. He and his wife are raising their two children, Estella and Oscar, bilingually in English and Pennsylvania Dutch.

There are many ways to preserve and share a culture: through scholarship, teaching, writing, language, music, and passing knowledge from one generation to the next. Doug Madenford has devoted himself to all of these.

Congratulations, Doug, and thank you for your dedication to researching, preserving, and sharing Pennsylvania Dutch culture.

https://padutch101.com/
https://www.facebook.com/PADutch101
https://www.youtube.com/user/dmadenford/featured
PA Dutch 101