Whenever you walk inside McCafferty's supermarket in Blue Bell, PA, you would see the picture of the Yost Log Cabin displayed on the side along with other pictures of historical buildings and sites that associate the history of Whitpain. It is said that the first industry in Whitpain took place in the Yost Log House for weaving.
But how did it begin? Who purchased this land to start a business? How long did it last?
The Yost Family
The Yost Family were not one of the early settlers of Whitpain. Jacob Yost (1696-1776) was born on March 16th in Zweibrücken, Germany. He arrived in the New World as a single man of 31 years old on September 21, 1727, with 109 German Palatines from the ship William and Sarah.
Jacob settled in Whitpain after his arrival where he built the small log house to start his weaving industry. In 1740 after his marriage, he purchased the "Yost/Homestead Farm."
In 1761, Jacob was naturalized.
In 1768, he deeded his property of his son Daniel Yost (1736-1812). He moved to Philadelphia to live with his son in-law.
Fun Fact #1: Jacob's daughter Anna Maria married John Philip Boehm's son, John Philip Boehm, Jr.
Daniel carried on the business and learned the manufacture of steel edge tools. He also built a factory building where he made tools like axes, sickles, knives, etc. The factory operated from 1760 to 1816.
During the American Revolution, Daniel was a 6th Class Private in the 2nd Company, 6th Battalion under Captain Abraham Wentz. His son Jacob Yost (1761-1814) was also part of the militia as an 8th Class Private.
Fun Fact #2: The factory built by Daniel was used to manufacture rifles and edge tools for the soldiers during the war.
Daniel's other son Peter Yost (1765-1827) became the third owner of the log house, but then it was owned by his brother Jacob, then to Abraham after Jacob died. Finally it was past down to their sister Sarah Yost (1772-1853) unit her death 5 years after her brother Abraham died.
Miraculously, the log house was purchased by Peter's son Isaac Yost (1812-1891). He learned the tanner's trade with his uncle Abraham Ziegler. He continued his practice in tanning after moving to Berks County for seven years until he returned to the old log house in Centre Square and remained there until his death. His wife continued to stay on the homestead until she died in 1904.
Isaac's son Jacob R. Yost (1843-1916) was only 8 years old when his family moved to Centre Square. He was educated in Whitpain, and attended the Freeland Seminary (now Ursinus College). He worked in the Centre Square hotel for three years until later on he purchased it from Ephraim Shearer, his former boss when he worked there. He operated the hotel until 1881 when he moved to Norristown with his family.
The log house was owned by the Yost Family for 158 years!
The Yost Log House
Throughout my blogging, I've been analyzing a lot of Colonial homes, but I've never seen a log house like this.
This kind of architecture in Pennsylvania is common when the Germans arrived in the 18th century. This is called the "Pennsylvania German Traditional."
"The earliest PA German Traditional buildings were of log or stone construction and of distinctly medieval form with steep roofs, thick walls and small, irregularly spaced windows. These small early houses had floor plans which followed traditional layouts - some very simple one-room buildings, but more frequently a 2 or 3 room layout with a central chimney and corner "winder stair" leading up to a loft or second floor."
In this case, the log house had a combination of log and stone materials. The purpose if this small size log house was for Jacob since he came to Pennsylvania by himself.
What I found odd about this house was the shed dormer. Never in my life I saw a dormer on a log house. It could be an addition to the house during the 20th century to help bring in more sunlight inside. Since the last owner from the Yost family died in the early 1890s, it's possible the owners after them made alterations or additions to the property.
My question is... is this log house still exist? Was it demolished? Was it relocated according to the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS)?
Read below the survey done by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) here!
Bibliography
Bean, Theodore Weber. History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Volume 2. (Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, 1884): 1163.
"Died at the Age of 94: Sketch of Life and Family of Mary Yost, of Centre Square." Ambler Gazette. June 15, 1905. Page 4. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/1784/rec/2.
"Ellwood Roberts' Biographical Annals, 1904: Montgomery Co, PA
Vol II - Part 1: pp. 1-24." USGenWeb. Accessed September 30, 2021. http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/montgomery/roberts/roberts201.html.
"Find A Grave." Find A Grave. Accessed September 30, 2021. https://www.findagrave.com.
Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator. Yost Log House, Lewis Lane & Morris Road, Ambler, Montgomery County, PA. Pennsylvania Whitpain Ambler Montgomery County Montgomery, 1994. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/pa2969/.
Hopkins, G.M. Atlas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Page 031, 1871.
"Jacob Yost (1696-1776)." Geni. Accessed September 30, 2021. https://www.geni.com/people/Jacob-Yost/6000000003432241012.
"Jacob Jost and Elizabeth Schambaugh of Whitpain Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania." Family-History.com. Accessed September 30, 2021. https://www.family-history.com/yost/Yost00Schambaugh.htm.
Morris, William E. Map of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania: from original surveys. 1849.
"Pennsylvania German Traditional 1700 - 1870." Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Last modified August 26, 2015. http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/portal/communities/architecture/styles/pa-german.html.
"Peter YOST." wengerdc.com. Last modified November 23, 2003. http://www.wengerdc.com/Wenger/d0001/g0000033.html.
Smith, J. L. Montgomery County 1893, Whitpain and Worcester Townships, Bethel Hill, Fairview, Cedar Hill, Washington Square, Broad Axe Left, 1893.
"Yost Family Reunion." Ambler Gazette. September 1, 1898. Page 1. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/260/rec/3.
Yost, J. Irwin. "The Yost Family." The Pennsylvania German 7, no. 1 (1906): 337-341.