Pennsylvania Dutch families met hardship with ingenuity. Respected for their skill, knowledge, and financial sense, they managed land and resources with care. Their experiences invite us to look again, listen more closely, and carry their resourcefulness into our own lives.
Ordinary Days in
Revolutionary Times
Firsthand accounts from people who lived through the Revolutionary era.
Including Maria Keely, George Washington, and Reverend Henry Muhlenberg, alongside insights from Goschenhoppen Historians and local history experts.
Thinking like a Historian and building your own research skills.
Our work is grounded in primary sources and early records. When accounts differ, we share what we know, note where the record is unclear, and explain how historians weigh evidence. We hope this series encourages careful reading, thoughtful interpretation, and the growth of your own research skills.
Insights into everyday 18th century Pennsylvania Dutch life.
From farming and trades to cooking, land use, and home life. Many of the skills explored here are also shared each year at the Goschenhoppen Folk Festival, and some contributors to this series are Folk Festival demonstrators with many years of hands-on experience in these traditions.
Authors and Contributors
Your history guides through the Maria Keely recollections are Alan G Keyser and Robert Wood. Descended from families who have lived in this region for generations, they are Pennsylvania Dutch, speak the dialect, and have studied the region and its history most of their lives. Both are prolific authors as well as highly regarded and enjoyable speakers.
As this 250th Anniversary series continues, you will hear from additional local history experts and from Goschenhoppen Folk Festival demonstrators whose hands still practice the skills that shaped everyday life in the 18th century.
More information about our authors coming soon.
The Goschenhoppen Historians
We bring history into your life!
The Goschenhoppen Historians
An all volunteer nonprofit founded in 1964 to identify, preserve, and share the Pennsylvania German folk culture and history of the Goschenhoppen region in northern Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
Our work is rooted in place.
Goschenhoppen is one of the oldest continuously existing Pennsylvania German communities in America, and we focus on the families, trades, home life, and agriculture that shaped this corner of southeastern Pennsylvania.
Year round programs and collections
Free monthly meetings focusing on the Pennsylvania Dutch, museums, and a library.
The Goschenhoppen Folk Festival
For more than five decades, hundreds of costumed volunteers demonstrate 18th and 19th century home skills and trades of the Pennsylvania Germans using authentic tools and period practice, supported by hundreds of costumed volunteers. Held in early August at the 1736 Henry Antes Plantation. 318 Colonial Road, Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania.
Traditional Goschenhoppen Christmas Market
Held in early December in Red Men’s Hall, Green Lane, Pennsylvania. Vintage and handmade gifts, traditional baked goods. Both the Country Store Museum and Folklife Museum are decorated and open for your enjoyment.
The maroon menu at the top of every page provides current event information and resources.
Quick Links to Sections
and Home Pages
A 250th Anniversary History Series
by the
Goschenhoppen Historians