Lower Frederick Township

Locals put down roots and grow in the historically rich soil of Lower Frederick Township, where longstanding events are held in lush parks, chickens roost in a Victorian-era art gallery and winding trails take hikers from the ski slopes to the front porch of a vintage hotel. “A lot of locals have lived here their whole lives and have so many stories about all the old buildings they grew up visiting,” says Melissa Thurman, owner of Engage Artisan Gallery. “This area really started booming in the 1800s with the railroad and we’ve still got old hotels and inns and taverns all over the place.”

Rural stretches of farmland and forest are sprinkled with converted barn homes and spacious colonial revivals on multi-acre lots. The neighborhood’s eastern side is filled with smaller lots grouped closer together to form subdivisions and stretches of brick rowhomes. There, snout homes with protruding garages and long driveways line up across the street from metal-roofed prairie homes and cape cods with dormer windows. Between both rural and subdivision options, homes vary in size from 900 to 4,100 square feet and lots can be anywhere from 3,600 square feet to over 10 acres. There are historic homes dating as far back as 1900 and newer construction built as recently as 2020, with prices that range from $250,000 to $715,000. “A lot of people come for the big plots of land because they’re surrounded by natural beauty and you have room to breathe,” Thurman says. “But they also come for the new developments, which are well hidden in little pockets. You can turn down a street and you don’t even know there’s a whole townhome development back there because it’s hidden, so the area doesn’t feel crowded.”

Cobble Park is one of the most used green spaces in the area, with multiple sports fields and a large playground. The park hosts lots of local activities like yard sales, concerts and the annual Easter egg hunt. The Natural Lands Meng Preserve stretches for over 100 acres and is a great spot for bird watching with miles of trails and flocks of migrating songbirds.

There aren’t any songbirds inside Engage Artisan Gallery, but the shop’s pet chicken, Rembrandt, likes to keep visitors company while they take a pottery class or browse through a collection of pieces from local artists. The shop is located in the historic Weldon House, a Victorian-era building along the Perkiomen trail. Known locally as Perky, the trail follows the old railroad line for about 20 miles, acting as a point of connection for a long list of parks and historic sites. Joe's Spring Mount Hotel, for example, is a great spot for hikers and bikers to stop for a cold beer on the covered mahogany porch or stay the night for an authentic 1900s hotel experience. In the colder months, Spring Mountain Adventures has everything from ski slopes to snow sports. Trail-goers lucky enough to pass by Old Pool Farm toward the end of August can participate in the 50-year tradition of the Philadelphia Folk Festival.

Adello Vineyard has award-winning wines and wine slushies to cool off on a hot day. Moccia’s Train Stop is a popular Italian spot famous for its upside-down pizza and the miniature trains chugging around the restaurant. Johnny's Pizza and Pasta Ristorante Italiano makes their stromboli one at a time to keep quality high.

Students in this neighborhood can attend highly rated schools like Schwenksville Elementary, which received an A rating from Niche and has about 470 students with a student-teacher ratio of 12-to-1. Perkiomen Valley Middle School West is another option that received an A-minus rating from Niche. Boyertown Area Senior High School received a B rating from Niche and has about 2,170 students with a student-teacher ratio of 18-to-1. Students are encouraged to participate in enriching programs like Future Business Leaders of America, National Honor Society and student council.

Highway 73 runs through the neighborhood and connects to Interstate 476, which can take Lower Frederick Township residents 37 miles south to Philadelphia or 26 miles north to Allentown.

Written By

Jordan Hamner

Photography Contributed By

TJ Engler

Video By

Jordan Sain