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For inquiries, please contact our office at 360 West Main Street Kutztown, PA 19530 or through
e-mail...
info@americanfolklifeinstitute.org
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The imposing 1804 Valentine Stoll Georgian townhouse on the Main Street of historic Kutztown, Pennsylvania served as a residence to the Town Crier, Town Doctor, and Clerk of the Village Market. Built or paid for by a wealthy farmer in nearby Richmond Township, the residence provided his family with the urban grace that comes from such townhouse activities, which were prevalent in Colonial times when country gentry maintained townhouses to reside in during the cold, winter blizzards.
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It is unlikely that Stoll’s townhouse matched the comforts of his country estate, and that he rented it on occasion to Kutztown citizens when he did not have the need to live there himself.
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AMERICAN FOLKLIFE INSTITUTE JUNE BOOK SALE:
1. OLEY VALLEY HERITAGE THE COLONIAL YEARS: 1700-1775 By Philip E. Pendleton (1994), 232 pages. Summary: An in-depth study of the evolving colonial patterns of settlement of the English, German and Swedish into the rich agricultural landscape of Berks County, Pennsylvania as understood through original documents, records, photographs and existing structures. Profousely illustrated from photos, maps and architectural plans. Sale price $23.00, includes postage.
2. Dr. Shoemaker issue of the Historical Society magazine of Berks County, feture article written by Richard H. Shaner VOL 67, No. 3 Summer 2002. Also features Miller Funnel Cake article at the Kutztown Folk Festival. Sale Price $20.00, includes postage. (47 pages)
3. Vol 69, No.4 Fall 2004 Historical Review magazine of Berks County featuring the "Mysterious Keim Farmstead and its Medieval Occult Link" by Richard H. Shaner. A companion article to Pendleton's Oley Valley Book (see #1). Priced at $25.00, includes postage. (47 pages)
ALL BOOKS in excellent shape. Allow ten days for personal checks to clear. For faster service, remit a money order. For further info, e-mail info@americanfolklifeinstitute.org.
ALL SALES subject to US or Canadian destinations. For other countries, contact us for quote.
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The elegant corner cupboard in this room held the house china of the Stolls (original owners), and the pediment door on its right led to their dining room.
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The north bedroom on the second floor has a Georgian-paneled fireplace flanked with closets on either side with mantels to hold ceramics. The fireplace in the south bedroom has recessed panels and one closet flanking it, done in the Georgian fashion.
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The main hallway leading upstairs showcases paint-decorated stairs and seventeen turned pegs on the first floor landing for guests to hang their wraps.
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Entering the Town Crier’s front interior doorway trimmed with Georgian keystones on the right, stands a Federal Tall Case Clock built by Kutztown’s clockmaker, Daniel Christ. The Federal Eagle painted on the clock dial bares witness to the newly born Republic. To the right of the clock is a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence reproduced by the Coca Cola Corporation in 1942. It was important that the Town Crier had a reliable time piece!
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An Old Order Mennonite Buggy passes the Town Crier's Home, which was dedicated to Shoemaker's memory, Father of American Folklife Studies in the United States.
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