As you drive up the “Great Road,” as Germantown Avenue was once known, you will find Cresheim Cottage. Her domain was once a 100 acre tract of land which her builders, Palatine German settlers from the Rhine Valley, secured from William Penn in 1683.

Cresheim Cottage, circa mid-19th century

Needless to say, Cresheim Cottage has housed many tenants of varying means and trades and has seen much history pass by her door.

The Cottage witnessed the first shots of the Battle of Germantown on October 4, 1777, when the American Colonial Troops fired on British Pickets. At the site of what is now the Lutheran Theological Seminary, these same Colonial Troops made a hasty retreat along the “Great Road.”

Years later, the first stagecoach line thundered by on its way to Springfield. Yeomen, lawyers, butchers, weavers, stocking knitters, hatters, furriers, powder makers, printers, victullars (makers of wines and beverages), a sheriff, a judge and nurserymen have all made Cresheim Cottage their home.

Though old by our standards, Cresheim Cottage is strong and well-preserved. Each room reflects the Cottage’s long and noble history, and the atmosphere takes us back to a day when life was simpler and less complex. We hope you enjoy your visit with us and that your memories of the Cottage stay with you.