Perkasie Museum named to National Register of Historic Places

The former Lehigh Valley Transit Trolley Station, now the Perkasie Historical Society Museum, has been named to the National Register of Historic Places.

The former trolley station, located at 513 W. Walnut St., was one of the properties chosen recently by the selection committee within the National Park System.

The Lehigh Valley Transit Company built the late Victorian, one-story building in 1911, completing it in 1912. Rugh & Lange, a prominent Lehigh Valley architectural firm, designed the station to serve the Liberty Bell trolley line. At the time, the trolley and railroad were in competition for transportation of people and goods to and from Philadelphia and Allentown.

After 40 years, with more and more people using cars for transportation, the trolleys stopped running and the station was closed in 1951. (Passenger rail train service ended in 1981). After the trolley station closed, a series of small businesses occupied the building until the Hartzell-Crouthamel American Legion Post 280 acquired the building for use for meetings and social gatherings. In 1991, the building was donated for $1 by the Legion to the Perkasie Historical Society for use as a local historical museum. In 2011, the museum was renovated to reflect its earlier role as a trolley station.

The society retained the integrity of the building, especially with the waiting room and ticket areas as well as the windows and porch details. The historical society uses the building for displays and to house the organization’s numerous collections. Rick Doll and Matt Lynch are the museum curators.

Other National Registry designations in Perkasie are the 1832 South Perkasie Covered Bridge in Lenape Park; Perkasie Park on South Ninth Street, which was selected in 2017; and Delbar Products.