| Painting
by Samuel B. Waugh, 1881, after original portrait
by Joseph Wright, 1790. U.S. House of Representatives. |
|
|
Frederick
Augustus Muhlenberg, second son of renowed Lutheran pastor
Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, was born in Trappe, Pennsylvania,
on January 2, 1750. He was educated in Halle, Germany
for seven years, and upon his return was ordained a Lutheran
minister. Muhlenberg served congregations in Pennsylvania
and Hew York City before entering politics as a member
of the Continental Congress. He became president of the
Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention and was a four-time
member of the U. S. House serving as the first and third
Speaker of the House. Muhlenberg was the first signer
of the Bill of Rights.
Muhlenberg
also served as first President Judge and Recorder of Deeds
and Register of Wills in Montgomery County. Muhlenberg
cast the tie-breaking vote in 1796 as chairman of a House
committee to ratify the Jay Treaty, in an effort to improve
post-war British-American tensions. Muhlenberg's vote
ended his rising political career because the treaty was
unpopular with many Americans. Muhlenberg was stabbed
in Philadelphia by his brother-in-law over his vote, but
survived and lived until 1801, when he died in Lancaster
while serving as Receiver General of the Pennsylvania
Land Office.
The Speaker's House
In December of 1781 Frederick Muhlenberg purchased a house
and 55 acre property in Trappe as his personal residence.
Under his ownership, the property was used as a farm and
a general store was operated on the premises. Present
architectural evidence indicates that the main house was
originally a side-passage Georgian-style home with a double
parlor. In the rear was a smaller building that probably
functioned as a kitchen and servants' quarters under Muhlenberg's
ownership. Muhlenberg occupied the house until he moved
to Lancaster in 1800. Around 1870 the property was owned
by Dr. Lewis Royer, who updated the hosue to the then-fashionable
style with the addition of a mansard roof, enlargement
of the double parlors into one large room, and replacement
of the main staircase. In 1923 the property became known
as Highland Hall when it was bought by Ursinus College
for use as a men's dormitory and athletic training center.
In 1944 the property was sold to private owners, who converted
the second and third floors to apartments. On April 1,
2004, the house and two acres was purchased by Save the
Speaker's House with the intent to restore it to the time
of Frederick Muhlenberg's occupancy. |
