Adamstown Borough

Beginnings [1]

Incorporated from East Cocalico and Brecknock townships, April 2, 1850. William Adams was the pioneer settler in 1761, and he laid out the town plot in twenty-eight lots of one acre each, and twenty-nine of one-half acre each, and other adjacent lots, with a street of four perches, running east and west. He first called it "Adamsburry." The town adjoins the Berks County line, and is on the old stage route, laid out in 1772, formerly traveled by members of Congress to and from Washington, District of Columbia. An Indian village once covered the site of the borough.

On February 14, 1814, John Frymeyer and his wife, Catherine, gave a tract of land for the erection of religious and educational edifices, which has since been used for that purpose. The post office was established in 1835.

The principal industry, for many years, was the manufacture of woolen hats. Others are tanneries, distilleries, gristmills, and cigar manufacture. A printing office was opened in 1873. Hosiery has also been a local product. Population in 1940 was 955.

Kagerise Store and House

This property was entered onto the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Text, below, was transcribed from a copy of the original nomination document.

The Kagerise Store and House was built in 1827 for Michael Kagerise, a fourth-generation German-American, The store was in continuous operation from that time until June 1985, as a dry goods, hardware and general merchandise store. The remainder of the building is still in use as a private residence. Retaining a high degree of integrity, this is one of Lancaster county's best examples of the Federal style as used in a combined commercial/residential structure. The structure retains its original site, materials, and details such as fenestration, window and door surrounds, and interior details like mantels, doors, and detailed carving,.

Adamstown, in the northeastern corner of Lancaster County on the border with Berks County, is situated between the county seats of Lancaster and Reading. In 1772, a highway and stage route was opened between those two towns, and the road passed through Adamstown. The town became a commercial center and a number of stores sprang up, several becoming established by the early 1800's.

Several examples of combined use store/residence structures of the same period are extant in Lancaster County. None as yet discovered, however, possesses either the concentration of interior and exterior stylistic features, of the integrity of original appearance that the Kagerise Store and House does. The Flickinger Store and House, 157 West Main Street, Adamstown, was built in 1820. While it has such elements as recessed entries, paneled shutters, and sandstone construction in common with the Kagerise Store and House, altered sash, vinyl siding and lack of significant detail lessen its stylistic identity and integrity.

In a countywide survey of historic sites conducted by the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County from 1978-1985, several examples of the house/store were located. Of those, few were originally built as combined stores and houses, but rather as houses which were shortly thereafter used partially for commercial purposes. This is true for structures of the same period as the Kagerise property. The Peter Good Store on Route 23, East Earl Township, dates to approximately the same year as the Kagerise Store and House and, while it does have such Federal features as double entries with fanlights and some multiple paned sash, its altered chimneys, fenestration, and covering of asphalt shingles have severely compromised its integrity as an example of the Federal style.

Later structures indicate a common pattern of side-by-side store/plan, although none in Lancaster County as yet identified can provide such a clear example of definite Federal style. The Steinmetz Store on Route 322 in Clay Township, dating c. 1870, is an excellent example of the combined commercial/residential structure of the latter half of the 19th century, but once again, the Kagerise Store and House remains Lancaster County's finest example of a combined store and residence of the Federal period.

1. Godcharles, Frederic A., Litt.D., Chronicles of Central Pennsylvania, 1944, Lewis Historical Publishing, Inc., New York