“It
is not easy to walk alone in the country without musing upon something.”
~ Charles Dickens
~ 1812-1870
The
historic Troxell-Steckel Farmhouse, built in 1756, is at the heart of this
rural scene in this HDR image I shot on a beautiful late spring evening in
early June in Egypt, Pennsylvania just off the Ironton Rail Trail.
The
farmhouse, a springhouse and picturesque 19th century barn and corn
crib comprise the Troxell-Steckel Farm Museum, an historic site owned and
operated by the Lehigh County Historical Society that is open for seasonal
tours and events.
The
Coplay Creek runs through this 31 acre property, which was once part of a 400
acre farm. The centerpiece of the property is a stone farmhouse, built in 1756. The farmhouse is an
authentic Pennsylvania German farmhouse and offers an example of Lehigh County
agricultural history. The Troxell-Steckel house was added to the National
Register of Historic Places in 1980.
It
is the region’s only authentically complete Pennsylvania German farmhouse,
resembling its medieval ancestors and giving a captivating glimpse of the area’s
farm history.
The
Pennsylvania German farmhouse was constructed in 1756 by John Peter Troxell, an
immigrant from Germany in search of a better life. When the structure was
built, twenty years before the Declaration of Independence was signed, this
farm sat on the edge of wilderness. George Washington was only 24 years old,
and America was ruled by the King of England. At the time, the house was
reported to be the largest residence on the Pennsylvania frontier. The
fortress-like masonry walls of this structure are more than two feet thick.
In
1768, John Peter Troxell sold this farm to Peter Steckel, another immigrant
from Germany. Pennsylvania Germans were one of the largest immigrant groups in
Eastern Pennsylvania. Their traditions enriched American culture.
As
someone of Irish-German heritage, I love getting a glimpse into Pennsylvania
German history in the area.
The
Troxell-Steckel Farm Museum may also be accessed from the Ironton Rail Trail,
which loops more than nine miles through Whitehall Township, the Borough of
Coplay and North Whitehall Township.
The Ironton Railroad was a
shortline railroad in Lehigh County. Originally built in 1861 to haul iron ore
and limestone to blast furnaces along the Lehigh River, traffic later shifted
to carrying Portland Cement when local iron mining declined in the early 20th
century. Much of the railroad had already been abandoned when it became part of
Conrail in 1976, and the last of its trackage was removed in 1984.
In 1996, Whitehall Township
purchased 9.2 miles of the right-of-way from Conrail, transforming it into the
Ironton Rail Trail.
