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MONTGOMERY COUNTY PARKS &
HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL SITES
Montgomery County has several parks and historic sites available for the enjoyment of the public. There is a county park or historic site within minutes of your home, most featuring many of your favorite activities...no matter what the season. In a developing suburban county, it is important that open space and recreational facilities be available to the public.
In addition to parks operated by the Montgomery County Commissioners, there are many parks maintained by most of the 62 municipalities. All of these, along with the Valley Forge National Historical Park, Fort Washington State Park, and Evansburg State Park, offer a full range of outdoor recreational and picnicking opportunities.
This quiescent setting of 600 acres in Upper Frederick Township with a sweeping vista of Deep Creek and Knight Lakes is a summertime mecca in the far western reaches for boating, rainbow trout fishing, and overnight camping, and the competitive sports of tennis and softball. The wintertime sees the heartier sports of ice skating, cross-country skiing and sledding, and ice fishing. Year-round the miles of trails are open to hikers and equestrians in search of the seasonal changes of nature.
This sylvan setting of 107 acres in the southernmost section of Upper Providence Township attracts the spirited to summertime band concerts, and for the sports-minded, basketball and softball. For the smaller children, an attractive playground can occupy their visits for hours of fun and frolic. Creek-side fishing in the Perkiomen is a quiet pastime for the avid outdoorsman, and in the frigid temperatures of winter, the creek becomes a skater’s wonderland.
This 225-acre urban oasis of greenery in the extreme eastern portion of Abington Township, a bequest from the late George Horace Lorimer in 1938, attracts many year-round for its natural wildlife sanctuary, and the large number of tree species. Ice skating during the winter on the nearby Pennypack Creek is a favorite recreational pastime. Prominently overlooking the creek is historic Council Rock where legend has recorded the regional Indians mapped plans long before the settlers made their inland discoveries.
The Schuylkill River in Upper Providence Township forms a natural backdrop to this 150-acre display of wild animals and raptors indigenous to Pennsylvania. The bird’s-eye view of nature’s lowly residents is an overlook to the river scape and pond for warm-weather boating and fishing. The winter chill and snow changes the scape to sledding and ice skating.
The mansion house, built in 1762, is the first home in America of the artist, author and naturalist, John James Audubon, a pioneer in the study and drawing of wildlife. Among the several owners were John Penn, a descendant of William Penn. Captain Jean Audubon, John James’ father, acquired the property in 1789 and sent his youthful son to supervise the estate, which included a working lead mine. Young Audubon lived here for little more than two years, but it was at Mill Grove that he gained his first impressions of American birds and wildlife while journeying into the adjoining forested country. This sanctuary of 175 acres in Lower Providence Township portrays birds and other wildlife in natural settings and attitudes from living subjects and habitat.
The mansion serves as a unique gallery displaying all the major works published by the talented John James Audubon.
This untouched timberland setting in Upper Hanover and Marlborough Townships of 2,400 acres surrounding the reservoir lake, with a focus to the far western horizon, is a year-round, fisherman’s paradise for bass, trout and pike. Boating is a popular warm weather pastime, and the charted miles of nature trails attracts hikers and equestrians from far and wide to enjoy the natural beauty of the four seasons. Cross-country skiing, ice skating and ice fishing enthusiasts spend endless hours in the refreshing winter air, and year-round the park naturalist brings together many fascinating programs on the area’s predominant living nature.
This stretch of 500 acres along the Perkiomen is a hiker’s paradise year-round from Collegeville into Spring Mount and Upper Salford Township. Central in the trail system, a brief respite can be enjoyed in a 20-acre clearing set aside for pavilion picnicking, shuffle board and fishing. Benches at the tree-lined edges are an inviting stop over for the trailblazer. Compacted stone walkways are especially inviting to the special populations. The Old Mill House, a turn-of -the-century summer retreat, is available through the year for private rental. A wraparound-screened porch overlooking the Perkiomen Creek is a prominent feature.
The main house of the farmstead, built in 1758, is Georgian-style architecture with intercultural features reflecting the Germanic background of its builder, Peter Wentz.
The surrounding 90 acres, located in Worcester Township, are an eighteenth-century working farmstead. With its strategic location to Philadelphia during the American Revolution, General George Washington chose the farmstead for his headquarters, and here he planned the Battle of Germantown, which took place October 4, 1777.
It was here on October 18, 1777, the news of Burgoyne’s surrender to General Gates at Saratoga was received and celebrated. According to tradition, a salute was fired so close to the house, the glass in a number of windows was shattered.
The turn-of-the-century colonial revival mansion was built by Pennsylvania Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker in 1901 as the physical embodiment of his vision of history. The mansion is centered in a designed English “natural” setting, emphasizing the particular views, highlighted tree compositions, and rural character of the site.
The surrounding 135 acres in Perkiomen Township comprise a functioning farm, which embodies the Governor’s physical tie to the land and his sought-after identity as a farmer. The house interior reflects decorative detail, which speaks of a Victorian upbringing and a lifestyle typical of the last nineteenth-century middle class.
The grist and sawmill, built in 1767 on the Swamp Creek, supplied ground grain and sawn lumber to generations of farmers in the surrounding countryside and to the troops during the American Revolution when encamping close to the area.
The cluster of buildings within the boundaries of the 200-acre site in the Townships of Upper and Lower Frederick and Limerick includes a house and bank barn, which range in date to the mid-nineteenth century.
Mill appurtenances have been carefully preserved, and following restoration over the next several years, the site will be an operating mill open to the public.
The manor house, built in 1752, exemplifies the early Georgian-style architecture, popular with wealthy English gentry during that time in the Philadelphia countryside, and the style of simple elegance which it afforded its builder, John Potts, successful Quaker ironmaster and founder of Pottstown, the borough in which it is located.
Tradition relates that General George Washington spent several days at the manor following the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777. Martha Washington is said to have journeyed often to Pottsgrove while the General wintered at Valley Forge in 1777–1778, and to have received visits from both him and his aide, the Marquis de Lafayette.
The Farm Park is a blending of a historical site and a fully operational farm. The 700-acre park was created by an agreement between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Montgomery County as a showplace working farm surrounded by miles of trails for walking, hiking, biking, or just the enjoyment of nature. Located in East and West Norriton Townships and Norristown Borough, the Stony Creek offers creek-side fishing opportunities. Plans for this exceptional park call for the development of a playground, additional miles of trails, several ponds, picnic and multi-use field areas, and a nature/farm history center. Visitors today may see all manner of wildlife including deer, red fox, and other animals and bird species in this unique setting which continues to plan its development to fit the needs of present and future visitors.
For more information on Montgomery County Parks and a free brochure please contact the Montgomery County Department of Parks/History and Cultural Arts at 610-278-3555. Visit the Parks and the Historic websites.
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