History Center preserves Berks treasures
The very structure of the building that houses many Berks County treasures was made for preservation. Constructed of stone and brick between 1928 and 1929, the Historical Society of Berks County was built at 940 Centre Ave. in Reading to be fireproof.
“Few institutions of the kind can make a similar claim,” local historian George M. Meiser IX said.
The second — and current — location of the historical society is now known as the Berks History Center. The organization rebranded the building in 2013.
“The Berks History Center serves this community as the steward of documents, photographs and artifacts that tell the history of Berks County from the indigenous people through today,” Executive Director Benjamin Neely said in an email. “Our organization has been serving in this capacity since 1869. The collections here are very personal to many of our community members because they are their families’ memories and stories.
“We are working to evolve with the community to continue interpreting the history of people whose ancestry has been rooted here for centuries and more recent arrivals,” Neely said.
Meiser summed up the importance of the center and its collections succinctly.
“Were it not for the Historical Society of Berks County, an incalculable amount of local history would have been lost to the ages,” he said. “The wealth of documents, one-of-a kind historical photographs, and local newspapers that have recorded significant events, births and deaths, and general goings-on hereabouts throughout the years have been deposited here — and have been cared for responsibly over the decades.
“Old-timers used to say that the H.S. of B.C. is the area’s golden attic. It’s even better than that, as a visit to the Berks History Center clearly indicates.”
Meiser, who served as president of the historical society’s board from 1998 to 2011, had high praise for the current caretakers.
“The hidden treasure is the fact that the present staff, without exception, is truly dedicated to the task of preservation and presentation,” Meiser said in an email last week. “The society’s treasures have never been in more competent hands.”
The organization’s first building was located at 519 Court St. in Reading and was purchased June 1, 1904 from Reading Gas Co. for $3,000 according to county deed records. On Aug. 2, 1916, the premises was sold for $5,550 to John Keim Stauffer, Randolph Stauffer, Anna Keim Stauffer and Mary Virginia Martin.
The land where the current building would be constructed was purchased April 16, 1928, from Emma R. Rick.
“While changes have been made to the interior over the years, you can still see that 1920s style in the architecture,” Neely said. “I think it enhances the experience of seeing exhibits in a building that has served that purpose for generations. There is a wonderful ambiance for your museum visit.”
The historical society needed more space to properly store and display its holdings, so it expanded in 1988. Its burgeoning collection required additional square footage so the organization purchased a neighboring former M&T Bank building on June 16, 2005, for $450,000.
That building, at 160 Spring St., is conveniently located behind the “Old Main” campus of the society and was converted into the Henry Janssen Library, which opened in 2008. Parking for both facilities is located there.
The library is home to more than 17,000 photographs, church and cemetery records from 1730 to the present, census reports from 1790 to 1920, newspapers from the 1790s to the 1940s (plus copies of the Reading Eagle from 1869 to 1988) and many more personal, family, tax and business records.
In April, Berks History Center museum opened its first major exhibit since the COVID-19 pandemic began. It features the photographs of Dr. William A. Haman, who was born in 1861 and died in 1942. The exhibit is also to the first to include information placards in Spanish and English.
Haman was a Reading High graduate and completed medical school at Hahneman University, Philadelphia, in 1883. His photography focuses on family members, city life, pastoral scenes and animals.
“A Snapshot in Time: Phase II” opens Oct. 19 and will include reinterpretations of Haman’s works by members of the Berks Photographic Society. It will be on display until February.
“New visitors are often surprised to find that the museum has three levels of exhibits to explore,” Neely said. “Some highlights include a large model depicting the intersection of Fifth and Penn streets circa 1800 and an early 1800s horse-drawn trolley car in which you are allowed to go in and sit.”
In addition to the treasures inside its buildings, the Berks History Center conducts many excursions to historic places throughout the year.
Upcoming events include: Oct. 2, Oley Valley Barn Tour: Part VII, tickets are $45 for nonmembers; Oct. 8, Kuechler’s Roost Hike, tickets are $8 for nonmembers; and Oct. 22, Fall 2022 Road Ramble, tickets are $45 for nonmembers.