This month we are taking quick trip to Spring Mountain, PA, which lies along the east side of the Perkiomen Creek and is still a popular destination. Spring Mountain covers 401 acres and contains a dense forest which covers 335 of the 401 acres.
Located only 30 miles from Philadelphia, the area of Perkiomen and Schwenksville became the home to many inns and mountain vacation homes thanks to the expansion of railroads into the area. The area was known as “die Sommer Frischlers” – a Pennsylvania Dutch expression meaning “those summer people who came to refresh themselves.” Neighboring village Spring Mount held an amusement park and observatory that ceased operation in 1901.
The Woodside Lodge, now named the Woodside Inn, is currently a restaurant that has been able to maintain most of its original architecture. Another popular inn was the Perkiomen Inn, which held a large golf course and later was home to a YMCA camp.
The Spring Mountain House was built in 1883 and was open to 150 guests until the late 1940s. The building then re-opened as a retirement home, but was eventually torn down in 1990 due to high amounts of vandalism.
Resources:
“Spring Mountain Conversation Landscape.” Natural Areas Inventory Update. 2007. https://www.montcopa.org/DocumentCenter/View/3253/NatAreaInv2007_Chap4?bidId=
“Woodside Lodge. Our History.” Woodside Lodge at Spring Mountain. 2014. http://woodsidelodge.us/our-history/