Spoonful of Sugartown

May is National Preservation Month! Historic Sugartown works to preserve not only the physical aspects and buildings of our 19th century village, but the stories of those who lived, worked, and thrived here.

"May the Fourth Be With You" wouldn't be the same funny meme if you were a Quaker in 1880 in Historic Sugartown.

While some of the main highlights of the Carriage Museum collection include a c. 1800 Conestoga Wagon used to haul freight from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh (not to be confused with the western Prairie Schooner!) and a hearse used by undertaker George L. Moore of Guthriesville in the 1870s, there are a few diamonds in the rough that have caught my eye recently. 

I walked around Historic Sugartown the other day and grabbed a few interior photos!

Folding hand fans are thought to have originated in Asia between the 7th and 10th centuries where they became a part of daily life. Fans gained popularity in Europe from the 16th century onwards and continued to spread across many countries, including the Americas.

Steam engines were the hot topic throughout the 19th century. While the concept of the steam engine had been around since the first century and commercially successful engines had been in operation since the early 18th century, the full power of steam power was still being explored throughout the 19th century. And that’s where Sugartown comes in – with Peter Worrall’s United States Patent No. 144, 722.

What we now think of as quick and easy- simply clicking “Print” from a computer or having a digital copy right at our fingertips- was not always so. For centuries, the primary method of printing and dispersing text and images relied on the printing press.

The General Store at Historic Sugartown, constructed c. 1805 by Joseph Waterman houses a wealth of items reminiscent of 19th Century life here at Sugartown. From muslin cloth and buttons to medicine and groceries, the General Store provided much-needed goods to the Sugartown community. One such product included a variety of canned goods, a product that would grow to become a staple in the American diet.

When Sharpless Worrall added the third story to his general store in 1851, he wanted to provide a meeting space primarily for the local Independent of Odd Fellows fraternal group.  However it quickly became a meeting spot for all sorts of other community organizations and local needs.  Which is how it became the meeting spot for the Sugartown Lyceum.