Hans Herr House Museum, Willow Street

The 1719 Hans Herr House Museum contains buildings and exhibits tracing the formation of Lancaster County and early America, including three Pennsylvania German farmhouses; several barns; a blacksmith shop, smokehouse and outdoor bake oven and an extensive collection of farm equipment spanning three centuries.

DAILY TOURS

The 1719 Hans Herr House is open to visitors Monday through Saturday, April through November. Docents in period dress talk about 18th-century life and lead tours through the küche, stube, kammer, attic and cellar of the oldest building in Lancaster County. Grounds and outbuildings are open to self-guided tours.

SCHOOL FROLICS

Four times a year, hundreds of elementary and middle school students descend on the 1719 Hans Herr House to learn about early American life first-hand. Guides in period dress demonstrate blacksmithing, woodturning, baking in an outdoor oven, making brooms, shoes and soap and other 18th-century tasks. Kids have a chance to try their own hand at decorative fraktur and scherenschnitte, hand-washing clothes, making baskets, quilting and churning butter. Every day includes colonial-era games.

PUBLIC EVENTS

In collaboration with the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, the 1719 Hans Herr House hosts "Lancaster Roots," a year-long schedule of concerts, classes, festivals, field trips, exhibits and sales. For a complete list of events, go to www.LancasterRoots.org.

• Snitz Fest—Lancaster County’s long-running celebration of Pennsylvania German food, crafts and farm life always draws a spirited crowd. The autumn festival focuses on apples (“snitz” often refers to sliced, dried apples), with demonstrators making apple cider and apple butter, and apple dumplings and snitz pie for sale.

• Historic Driving Tour—In an area thick with history, many historic landmarks are overlooked. Beginning in 2010, the 1719 Hans Herr House has organized a self-guided tour of half a dozen historic sites nearby. In 2011, the home of former Pennsylvania senator Amos H. Mylin saw cars down the block and almost 300 visitors.

• Music in the Orchard—Who says learning can’t be fun? Families are invited to picnic in the shade of the Herr family orchard as they listen to a great mix of local musicians. The grounds are open for self-guided tours.

Plan your Hans Herr House Museum visit and explore what else you can see and do in Willow Street using our Willow Street trip app.
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