Call Number:

02

Repository:

Wissahickon Valley Historical Society

Extent:

0.5 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1812-1993 (inclusive)

Creator:

Claus, Richard T.

Abstract:

In 1764, Abraham Wentz built a public house on Skippack Pike in Blue Bell, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The Rising Sun Inn was a wayside tavern, but also served as a public space for political discussion and commerce. The building was converted to a residence, and then remodeled as office space from about 1985-1991. The Rising Sun Inn property records, 1812-1993, were collected by the first office tenant, Richard T. Claus of Delmarva Inc. Chemicals. The collection includes original deeds, historic survey data, and remodeling plans.

In 1764, Abraham Wentz built a public house on Skippack Pike in Blue Bell, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The Rising Sun Inn was a wayside tavern for over a century before being converted to a private residence in 1867.

The Rising Sun Inn was a tavern frequented by travelers, but it was also a public space utilized by the community. It was a place for political discussion, and in 1788 served as the location of a Whitpain Township meeting to select nominees for local elections. It earned the nickname "wheat market" because millers and farmers met there to buy and sell their products.

The red-brick Georgian Colonial is the oldest brick house in Montgomery County. The Wentz family owned the property until 1888, after which it was owned by a succession of homeowners. In 1985, the company was purchased by a developer, who finished turning it into the "Rising Sun Office Center" in 1991.

Bibliography:

Trea, Robert E. "Offices in Blue Bell Once Served as a Tavern." Montgomery Newspapers. December 4, 1991. Real Estate section, page C1.

These documents pertaining to the Wentz Tavern property were collected by Richard T. Claus, president of Delmarva Inc. Chemicals, which was the first corporate tenant to occupy the Rising Sun Office Center. The collection includes: 9 original deeds (1812-1993), restoration plans and information including paint chip analysis, historic survey and title search documents, building surveys with photographs, and building and floor plans.