Berks History Day draws crowd to Wyomissing homestead

Apr. 13—If they had given an award for who traveled the furthest to reach the inaugural Berks History Day event held Saturday at the Nicholas Stoltzfus Homestead in Wyomissing, Herb and Lea Cresswell would have won.

The couple had come all the way from their home in Colorado to Berks so that Herb could research his German ancestry. He has family members who lived centuries ago in the Stouchsburg area of western Berks.

And the timing of their trip was fortunate, as it coincided with Saturday's free event sponsored by the Berks Heritage Council to celebrate local heritage. It was there that Herb got ancestry information from representatives of the Tulpehocken Settlement Historical Society, who set up a stand.

"Those guys were so helpful," Herb said.

Also among the exhibitors were about 20 other museums, historic sites and history groups from across Berks who shared information with attendees hoping to someday draw them as visitors.

"Berks County is home to so many wonderful museums and historic sites, far more than many people realize," said heritage council president Bradley Smith.

The Stoltzfus Homestead, for example is a stone-built English colonial-style house built in the early-1700s with an adjacent barn.

Caretaker Elam Stoltzfus hopes the event educated people on the Berks historic properties they don't know about, and the homestead he oversees as well.

"We've had people come here today and tells us they hadn't been here in decades, which we were excited about," he said.

Jesse Reitz of Cumru Township and his friend Julia Wolford, who grew up in Fleetwood, are local history buffs but they too learned about Berks sites they haven't been too.

Epler's Schoolhouse in Bern Township, for example, is now on their list of places to visit, they said.

Wolford said that as a young girl she wore dresses made by her mom so she could volunteer at Daniel Boone Homestead, and she has been into Berks history since then.

"It's fascinating," she said.

Jane Goetz, president of the Friends of Epler's Schoolhouse, and treasurer Bonnie Schaeffer were happy to spread the word about their site.

"I'm so glad that people are coming to see us and celebrate history," Goetz said.