Library & Archival Collections

The Heritage Center library and archives is a research center that is open to the public both by appointment and walk-in visits. Its vast collections of primary and secondary sources offer unique opportunities for researching a variety of subjects including Schwenkfelder and Silesian history, local history, genealogy as well as Pennsylvania German history and culture. The Heritage Center welcomes all researchers from children working on school reports to professional scholars working on major research projects.

The Heritage Center archival collections contain unique papers and photographs; it is large in volume but concentrated in its scope. The works of Caspar Schwenckfeld and the history of Schwenkfelders in America are its foundation and reason for being. The push to preserve old German-language books and manuscripts held by Schwenkfelder families began in the late 19th century. Preserving these precious pieces of the past, interpreting them through exhibits, programs, and publications, and research and documentation of the collection is the priority of library/archives and museum collections staff.

A high percentage of the 18th and early 19th century manuscripts and books are in German or German script. Staff is available to assist researchers with locating collection materials related to their projects.

If you have something that you think would add to the stories we tell, please contact our archivist hunt@schwenkfelder.org.

Major Collection Subjects:

• Schwenkfelder and Pennsylvania German history and culture

• Upper Perkiomen Valley history and culture

Major Collection Formats:

• Books, 15th–21st C.

• Manuscripts, 16th–20th C.

• Prints, 16th–20th C.

• Photographs, 19th–20th C.

• Slides, 20th C.

• Glass plate negatives, 19th–20th C.

• Audio and video recordings, 20th–21st C. (various formats)

• Digitally reproduced images of other formats, 21st C.