At first when I first found out about how old this house was, I didn't believe it because I was thinking, "How could this house be THAT old when Ambler was established in 1888?" It turns out this house REALLY existed before Ambler was established as a town. 1732 to be exact.
In this post, I decided to dive into this home to determine if this house was really constructed in 1732.
Photo Analysis
Based on the photos I found online, it might be Folk Victorian based on how the porch was placed and how it looks. On the east facade of the house, it has a certain parapet gable shape, possibly Gothic Revival. And also the gabled dormers that is mostly from the 19th century. When looking through the house photos, the south facade has a coupe of window headers with keystones on them. The house itself looks updated and renovated/restored. The interior is stunning, I would say! Based on my analysis, this house is probably built in the 19th century, even though there is a window header with keystones on them, indicating it may be from the 18th century.
History of the Home
This post was written back in 2020, and I didn't do much research about this home when I first saw it. Just recently I stumbled upon a column from the Ambler Gazette archives that actually talked about the history of this home. I was very fortunate to find it 2 years later! Here's what I found out:
According to the Ambler Gazette's "Local History Sketch" column, the land where the house is located dates back to the early 1700s when that portion of land was owned by the Burkes Family. It is said that the house "bears the date of its building, which was as long ago as 1776." It wasn't until in 1789, the tract was owned by the Acuff Family for over 60 years!
After 1852, the Acuff Family sold the tract to William Colflesh until he died in 1874. William C. Lyster came into possession of the tract for $7,790.
Some time in the early 1890s, the land began to divide into building lots after the Ambler Real Estate Company bought the tract for $26,500. It was until 1893 Thomas Rose purchased one of the lots of 4 acres for $5,000 and bought the house and 3 acres for $2,750 in 1894. It was that same year Thomas remolded the home, and added a one-story kitchen on the west wing of the home. On the south side of the home stood a spring house. This method of "slight refrigeration" was preferred at the turn of the 20th century.
Final Thoughts
The author of the website, who wrote about this home back in 2015, was accurate to say that this home was built during the 18th century, excluding the addition of the west wing. By connecting the dots of this home's timeline, I can conclude that this home was built around 1789 by Jacob Ulrich who deeded 79 acres to the Acuff Family that same year.
When I first saw the old photographs, I questioned why this home looked like it belonged in the 19th century based on its structure. After reading more detail about the home through the Ambler Gazette's "Local History Sketch" column, I began to understand who was responsible for the remodeling and renovations.
I actually have visited the house at least twice. While in high school, I was part of a summer orchestra group and performed in the backyard of the owner at the time: Joseph A. Schneider (1939-2015). The summer orchestra had been playing at his house for many years until his untimely death.
I never knew all this time this house was truly special.
Fun Fact #1: In 2015, the Wissahickon Pops Orchestra preformed at the Ambler Pickering Field in tribute to Joe Schneider.
Bibliography
"Distance Calculator." DaftLogic. Accessed July 1, 2020. https://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-distance-calculator.htm.
Franklin Survey Company. Montgomery County 1949 Vol D, Plate 15, 1949.
Hough, Mary P. H. "Early history of Ambler 1682-1888." A Celebration of Women Writers. Accessed January 18, 2022. https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/hough/ambler/ambler.html.
"Local History Sketch. Interesting Local Matter Collected by 'E.M.' The Old Acuff Homestead in Ambler--Jacob Acuff--William Colflesh--John S. Buchanan--John J. Houghton--William C. Lyster--Thomas Rose." Ambler Gazette. July 2, 1908. Page 2. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/5518/rec/14.
McAlester, Virginia Savage. A Field Guide to American Houses. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2017): 268, 397.
Mueller, A. H. Atlas of the North Penn Section of Montgomery County, Pa., Plate 26, 1916.
Smith, J.L. Montgomery County 1893, Ambler Borough, 1893.
Wolf, Allison. "330 Mattison Avenue." The Ambler Rambler. September 28, 2015. https://montcoresource.com/2015/09/28/330-mattison-avenue/#sthash.1zbKtTSW.dpbs.