Trout Hall

Last updated
Trout Hall
2008 - Allentown Trout Hall.jpg
Trout Hall in Allentown in June 2008
USA Pennsylvania location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location414 West Hamilton Street, Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Coordinates 40°36′9″N75°27′50″W / 40.60250°N 75.46389°W / 40.60250; -75.46389
Area0.8 acres (0.32 ha)
Built1768-1770
Architectural styleGeorgian
NRHP reference No. 78002425 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPNovember 14, 1978
Designated PHMCJanuary 24, 1967 [2]

Trout Hall is an historic home located at Allentown in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. One of the older homes in Allentown (1910 Walnut Street is the oldest), it was built between 1768 and 1770, and is a two-and-one-half-story, built with stone in Georgian architectural style.

Contents

Built as a summer home by James Allen, the third son of William Allen, founder of Allentown, it currently houses the library and museum of the Lehigh County Historical Society. [3]

History

18th century

In 1735, William Allen (1704-1780), a wealthy shipping merchant, purchased 5,000 acres of land in the eastern region of what was then the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania.

By 1762, Allen laid out the plans of a 42-block town that he called Northampton Towne. The name however, never took hold, and the settlement was commonly known as Allen's Town, and then was combined into Allenstown, prior to being formally named Allentown. [4]

James Allen (1742-1778), William Allen's third son, followed in his father's footsteps. He graduated from college in 1759 and law school in 1765, and he was admitted to practice law before the Supreme Court. On October 6, 1767, James Allen was elected as common Philadelphia councilman and then the Pennsylvania Assembly by an almost unanimous vote.

Since his busy life allowed little time to manage Allentown himself, he delegated the responsibilities of running it to the people he trusted most. At times, however, he would make the 60 mile journey from Philadelphia to Allentown, which eventually justifed the need for his own house. He built the two-story stone house and called it Trout Hall after the abundance of trout in the various creeks and the Lehigh River that surrounded Allentown.

James Allen died of tuberculosis on September 19, 1778. After he died, his wife remarried and his daughters became frequent residents at Trout Hall. [4]

19th century

On May 17, 1789, James Allen's daughters left Allentown, and the home would be unused until the winter of 1825, when James’ eldest daughter, Anne Penn Greanleaf, gave a few blocks of the original property where Trout Hall was situated to her daughter. It was at this time that the name Trout Hall was dropped and the home was renamed The Livingston Mansion. [4]

The Livingstons were merchants, and in 1847, when a business deal went bad, the house and surrounding land was sold to make up for his lost profits. The new owner, Comegys Paul, sold the house a week later and earned a profit for the sale. In 1848, it became the Allentown Seminary. In 1867, it became the original location of Muhlenberg College prior to the college's development of its current campus off Cedar Crest Boulevard. [4]

20th century

On January 9, 1904, the Lehigh County Historical Society was founded to find and restore historical landmarks in Lehigh County. Their goal was to preserve the home's past, and they restored the home's east wing, which had not been touched in decades. One year later, in 1905, Muhlenberg College relocated its campus, and the Historical Society renamed the building Trout Hall again. [4]

Used now as a museum, Trout Hall houses Revolutionary-era artifacts for the public to view and showcases the home.s early 18th century architecture. [1]

In 1978, in recognition of its historical notability, Trout Houl was added to the National Register of Historic Places. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehigh County, Pennsylvania</span> County in Pennsylvania, United States

Lehigh County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 374,557. Its county seat is Allentown, the state's third-largest city after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allentown, Pennsylvania</span> Home rule municipality in Pennsylvania, United States

Allentown is the county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the third-most populous city in Pennsylvania with a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 census and the most populous city in the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th-most populous metropolitan area in the nation as of 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Muhlenberg</span> German-born clergyman and missionary (1711–1787)

Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, was a German-born Lutheran clergyman and missionary. Born in Einbeck, Muhlenberg immigrated to the Province of Pennsylvania in response to demands from Lutherans for missionary work in the colony. Muhlenberg was integral to the founding of the first Lutheran church body or denomination in North America, and is considered the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Muhlenberg</span> American politician

John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg was an American clergyman and military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. A member of Pennsylvania's prominent Muhlenberg family political dynasty, he became a respected figure in the newly independent United States as a Lutheran minister and member of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Allen (loyalist)</span> American judge (1704–1780)

William Allen was a wealthy merchant, attorney and chief justice of the Province of Pennsylvania, and mayor of Philadelphia during the colonial era. At the time of the American Revolution, Allen was one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in Philadelphia. A Loyalist, Allen agreed that the colonies should seek to redress their grievances with British Parliament through constitutional means, and he disapproved of the movement toward independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of Pennsylvania-related articles</span>

The following is an alphabetical list of articles on people, places, and things related to Pennsylvania in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhlenberg College</span> Private college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, US

Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg College is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Muhlenberg, the German patriarch of Lutheranism in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry W. Livingston</span> American politician

Henry Walter Livingston was a United States Representative from the state of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Taylor House (Catasauqua, Pennsylvania)</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

The George Taylor House, also known as George Taylor Mansion, was the home of Founding Father George Taylor, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, in Catasauqua, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The home was built by Taylor in 1768 and designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehigh County Historical Society</span> Historical museum in Pennsylvania, U.S.

Lehigh County Historical Society is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1904, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and exhibiting the history of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The Historical Society and Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum are located at 432 West Walnut Street in Allentown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Addison Hutton</span> American architect

Addison Hutton (1834–1916) was a Philadelphia architect who designed prominent residences in Philadelphia and its suburbs, plus courthouses, hospitals, and libraries, including the Ridgway Library, now Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. He made major additions to the campuses of Westtown School, George School, Swarthmore College, Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, and Lehigh University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamilton Street</span> Major thoroughfare in Allentown, Pennsylvania

Hamilton Street is a major thoroughfare and historic street in the Center City section of Allentown, Pennsylvania. The street dates back to 1762, when Allentown's founder, William Allen, included it as one of the first of several streets to be constructed in the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in Allentown, Pennsylvania</span> Overview of sports activities in Allentown, Pennsylvania

Sports in Allentown, Pennsylvania has a rich tradition at all levels, including professional sports, the Olympics, and high school levels. While most Allentown residents support professional sports teams in New York City or Philadelphia, Allentown itself also is home to two major professional sports teams, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Triple A team of the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball, and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League, the primary development team of the Philadelphia Flyers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buildings and architecture of Allentown, Pennsylvania</span>

The buildings and architecture of Allentown, Pennsylvania reflect the city's history from its founding in 1762 through to the present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Allentown, Pennsylvania</span>

The culture of Allentown, Pennsylvania dates back to the early 18th century settlement of the city and the surrounding Lehigh Valley, which was then part of the Province of Pennsylvania, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, by German immigrants almost exclusively affiliated the Lutheran, Moravian, and Reformed faiths, three of the most prominent Protestant denominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Center City Allentown</span> Neighborhood in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States

Center City Allentown is the downtown and central business district of Allentown, Pennsylvania, the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It has a dense population and is currently undergoing an urban revitalization process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick Leaser</span> Pennsylvanian German farmer, patriot and soldier

Frederick Leaser (1738–1810) was a Pennsylvanian German farmer, patriot and soldier from Lynn in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. During the American Revolutionary War, he transported the Liberty Bell to the Zion Reformed Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where it was successfully hidden and protected from the British for nine months during the British occupation of Philadelphia, then the revolutionary capital of the Thirteen Colonies.

Henry Melchior Muhlenberg Richards was an American military officer who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and then as a captain in the United States Navy during the Spanish–American War. He was a member of the Muhlenberg family, a United States political, religious, and military dynasty based in the state of Pennsylvania. Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania is named in after the family's honor.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  3. "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System.Note: This includes Allen F. Maybe and Susan M. Zacher (December 1977). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Trout Hall" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Allentown Bicentennial Committee (1962) Allentown, PA Bicentennial 1962 Sesquicentennial Lehigh County.