After 25 years of work, Montgomery County will celebrate the dedication of the Speaker’s House in Trappe this weekend, marking the first time the public will be welcomed inside, writes Nikki DeMentri and Will Kenworthy for CBS News Philadelphia.
The historic 18th-century building served as the home of the United States’ first Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“This was one of our crown jewels, really, of the town’s history,” said Lisa Minardi, executive director of Historic Trappe.
It took more than two decades to save the house from demolition, secure funding for its restoration, and complete the work needed to bring it back to life.
The home once belonged to Frederick Muhlenberg, who had many jobs in his lifetime, from a farmer to a Lutheran pastor.
“He works his way up from the Continental Congress to Montgomery County to the state constitutional convention to the first speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives,” said Minardi.
Work is also underway on the kitchen garden, which will supply herbs and vegetables for community cooking classes in the home’s restored kitchen.
Read more about the Speaker’s House tucked away in Trappe at CBS News Philadelphia.
