Wissahickon Valley Historical Society pays just $1 per year to rent the 1895 school house, its HQ
The Wissahickon Valley Historical Society (WVHS) had a special visitor to its recent meeting. Eric Traub, the Whitpain Township Manager who was newly sworn in in June, attended to both present information, as well as gather the “rent” due for its home.
A guest of the WVHS monthly meeting and invited Speaker Series feature, Traub accepted the society’s “rent.” By law, Whitpain Township owns the 1895 Whitpain Public School Building, located at 799 W. Skippack Pike, which is the home to the WHS. In order to use the space, the township charges the society a whopping $1 each year to rent it out.
Whitpain Township shares the responsibility of maintaining and upkeeping the building alongside the society. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the old school house now serves as a museum and library instead of a bustling classroom. It also is used, of course, as the WVHS headquarters.
The WVHS, which “serves promote and preserve the history of Ambler Borough, Lower Gwynedd Township and Whitpain Township” presented Traub with its annual rent via a framed certificate, thanking Traub and the township for its continued support.
To learn more about the society and its ongoing projects, visit some previous coverage by Wissahickon Now here, or about its current tours here, or the WVHS website here.
