Did You Know Sellersville is 275 Years Old?

  What do you know about Sellersville?

My wife and I bought a house in Sellersville in February of 2012. It was a crazy time, as anyone who goes through house buying and selling knows. We chose Sellersville because it served the purpose for us. It was affordable, walkable (a little steep), and in a few minutes... you could be in the middle of nowhere. In other words, perfect as anything could be.

When we first moved, we were impressed by the quietness and friendliness of the people who are our new neighbors. Oh no, don't get me wrong, the people of Lansdale are fine people and good Americans. I used to sit back and crack open many Coors 16 ouncers on my stoop back in the day. But something was different ...

I feel different living here. Relaxed. Maybe that was it... it was something. I am sure moving from a small row home on Shaw Ave to a single house in Sellersville would do that to anyone.

Life went on as it tends to do and before I knew it, I was looking for some extra work to make some money for the holidays. I wound up working in one of the oldest buildings in the town. As I toured the building on my first day, I couldn't help but marvel at the wood floors and the remnants of the previous layouts of the warehouse.

"What was this place before?" I asked my fellow employees. No one really knew.

That was a problem.

I couldn't get a decent answer.

I chose to go to the best resource anyone uses. Google, followed by a vast Ebay search which turned up a postcard circa 1906. The building was originally a cigar manufacturer. Awesome.

This was really to give myself a piece of mind. I was worried about upsetting my Sellersville relaxed vibe. At any rate, I began to get obsessed about the images on these postcards from the turn of the last Century. A man named Berkemeyer printed postcards in town with the photos from Ziegler, a photographer from Souderton.

Why were these images important? I wanted to find out what the inspiration was. 100+ years ago film was not cheap.

I was riding my bike through Sellersville and snapping pictures of the same scenes that were done over 100 years ago.

I wanted to purchase every last one of these postcards and figure out why these images were chosen and what they looked like now.

If I chose to purchase all of these images it would have taken all of my holiday money. I really didn't like the idea of working an extra job for a postcard an hour. I went to the Sellersville Museum and volunteered my time to help in anyway I could so I didn't wind up in debt for my hobby.

I was welcomed and began working every Tuesday and attending the Historical Authority meetings. During the meeting, I was asked if I was interested in joining the Museum as a Borough appointed Authority Member.

I submitted my interest and the next time the Borough Council met, I was unanimously appointed to the Authority.

I am a member of the Historical Authority and it's Sellersville's 275th Anniversary. In other words ... it's on everyone ... let's party.

I am here for the long haul. Lifetime. That gives me lots of time to find out every single thing about my new town and I am very excited to make this a part of my life. There are many stories to be told and fascinating tidbits of history that have come through our scenic Borough.

Through this blog, I will let you in on the interesting, intriguing, scary, and other unique experiences from the vast treasures of the Sellersville Museum. I urge you to check it out if you are in town. It's free and is the best history museum Sellersville has.

Please email me with any/all questions you may have. BRox@sellersvillemuseum.org and Like us at facebook.com/SellersvilleMuseum