Berks Places: Old Dry Road Farm a tribute to those ousted by Blue Marsh Dam construction

Aug. 1—Three farmsteads on about 200 acres of land in Lower Heidelberg Township owned by the Army Corps of Engineers serve as a way of preserving the historic agrarian lifestyle disrupted by the creation of Blue Marsh Lake and Dam to combat flooding in the 1970s.

Old Dry Road Farm Inc. operates and maintains 18 buildings in the bucolic setting. In a nod to those who lost their family homesteads to eminent domain, the nonprofit teaches schoolchildren how a traditional Berks County farm operated in the 19th century.

"There were many hundreds of families that got kicked out of Pleasant Valley when they put the Blue Marsh Lake in, and there was quite a bit of bad public feeling about that at this time," said Richard Schuster, president of Old Dry Road Farm Inc. and farm manager.

The people who had lived there for generations did not take too kindly to being told they had to move.

"So what happened was, because of that public resentment, they (Army Corps of Engineers) donated this 200 acres of land to set aside as Old Dry Road Farm with the understanding that a group would be formed that would keep alive history and the folkways and the way of life of the people who had lived in the valley," Schuster explained.

"One of the purposes of the farm is to disseminate that information through schools that come out and visit the farm a day at a time," Schuster said, noting that during a normal year between 1,200 and 1,500 students visit.

"They get an orientation to the farm, the history, they break into activity groups and they dip candles or churn butter, learn how to play kids games like rolling a hoop and making darts out of a corn cob and turkey feather. They break for lunch and then the kids go on a tour of the Dundore-Hottenstein property. That's the most obviously historic property."

The main house was constructed around 1842 and was slated for demolition when the Blue Marsh Lake and Dam flood plan was adopted. Six buildings from the Dundore-Hottenstein farmstead that was located along Route 183 and Church Road were relocated to Old Dry Road Farm and rebuilt. The house furnishings and farm equipment there now are from the 1840-1880 period when the farm was fully functional.

From the Library of Congress: "This is a good example of a 19th-century Pennsylvania German family farm. Although once very prosperous, the farm failed to adjust to agricultural modernization in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and became a marginal farming enterprise. Consequently, the farmers were unable to make constant improvements and the farm offers many points of study unavailable in more prosperous and improved farms.

"Most importantly, because of the farm's relative stagnation in the twentieth century, the architectural and planning fabric of the farmstead ensemble (termed die Bauerei) provides a fine example of early 19th-century Pennsylvania German farm planning."

There were two existing farms on the Old Dry Road Farm property when the Blue Marsh project went in. They were home to the Essig and Staudt families.

The Essig farmhouse is an example of early 19th century log construction and was severely vandalized prior to the formation of Old Dry Road Farm Inc., according to dryroadfarm.org. It needed extension renovation and now is home to the site's office and half of it is used as a residence, Schuster said.

"We do have three tenants that live in some of the buildings," Schuster said. "Not the Dundore-Hottenstein, but the Essig and the Staudt. And the income from the tenants is kind of what pays the bills."

Schuster asked that visitors be mindful of the residents' privacy when on the property.

"We often have people come out and bike and hike and ride horses or whatever through the property and that's fine," Schuster said. "It is public land. But the buildings are the responsibility of Old Dry Road Farm and there are 18 altogether. That's all three farms put together."

"The single most-interesting feature in my mind is one particular building that is part of the Staudt farm," Schuster said. "It's a building that is referred to as a speicher. It was originally a food preparation or food storage building and the one on our farm dates to 1775."

While there are no bathrooms or rental facilities at the site, Schuster said he often finds people taking a rest from their bike rides there or having a picnic at the tables near the Essig red barn that are used for students at lunchtime.

"That's fine as long as we don't have a school program that day," Schuster said. "We don't have any problem with people using them."

Blue Marsh's Highland Hill and Lake Border trails run near the property, so Old Dry Road Farm is a convenient stop.

Upcoming events

On Aug. 6 the Pennsylvania Artist Blacksmiths' Association is holding its annual Blacksmith Day at the farm from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be forging demonstrations, a hands-on instruction area for the public, children's activities and a forging contest among the blacksmiths.

If you are a fan of the History Channel's "Forged in Fire" competition show, this could be your chance to see a less harrowing version in person. Admission is free.

The group has been having the event there for about a decade Schuster said.

"Events we have out there need to have a distinct history connection," he explained. "We can't have weddings, we can't rent the grove for a picnic. The blacksmith event works because it is a historical, educational thing."

The farm itself only conducts one event a year on the fourth Sunday of September.

"So this year it will be Sept. 25, that's our our Fall Harvest Festival," Schuster said. "That's a long thing. It starts at 11 and runs until 4, we have music all day long and we have a lot of the folks out there demonstrating the kind of activities that were necessary for people to learn and use on a day-to-day basis back in the 1800s."

For those unable to make it to that event there is another option to get an in-depth look at Old Dry Road Farm.

"I'm always willing to conduct tours out there for even a very small group, even two or three people," said Schuster, 78. "If they contact me through the website, I would be happy to give them a tour."

If you go

What: Old Dry Road Farm

Address: 202 Highland Road, Wernersville (Lower Heidelberg Township)

Hours: Grounds are open from sunrise to sunset. Tours must be set up in advance.

Admission fee: None

Phone: 610-374-8839 (general information) or 610-678-3381 (school program information)

Website: dryroadfarm.org/

Size: 200 acres

Number of buildings: 18

Picnic areas: There are picnic tables near the Staudt red barn that may be used unless a school program is being held.

Rental areas: None