The Kissling Farm is a historic farm complex and national

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

located in

Robesonia Robesonia is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,061 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Once famous for its iron furnaces (c. 1794-1927), the t ...

, Heidelberg Township,

Berks County, Pennsylvania Berks County ( Pennsylvania German: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading. The Schuylkill River, a tributary of the Delaware Ri ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1992.

History

During the late 18th century, this farm was owned by Peter Kule and his wife, Margretha, who sold the farm to Jacob Klobb (alternate spelling "Klopp") on April 6, 1786. When Klobb/Klopp died

intestate Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...

on August 7, 1787, the property's two land tracts and distillery were sold by the local Orphans' Court to his sons, John, Jacob and Peter Klobb/Klopp. The property and its buildings were then resold in 1815 to John Bechtle, who was forced by financial circumstances to sell the property during a Sheriff's sale in 1824. Purchased by Jacob and Daniel Bechtle at that time, they sold their shares to John Kalbach, respectively, in 1831 and 1839. Kalbach then sold the property to his son, John, in 1843. Following his death two years later, the property was transferred to Joseph Kalbach, who then sold it to Benjamin Lamm in 1846. After working the land for more than two decades, Lamm died in 1869; the farm was then purchased by Amandon Kissling for $13,000. The farm then remained in the Kissling family's hands between that time and the time that the property was nominated for placement on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. ''Note:'' This includes

Placement on the National Register of Historic Places

The nomination form to place this property on the National Register of Historic Places was completed by Mary Ellen Lash, a consultant with the Berks County Conservancy in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania in June 1991. This property and its buildings were then officially listed on the

in 1992."Listings in a thematic nomination of Berks County farms," in "Bureau for Historic Preservation: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission: State News," in ''Preserving Pennsylvania'', Vol. 6, No. 4, 1993, p. 4.

Architectural features

The Kissling Farm complex has seven contributing buildings, one contributing site, and three contributing structures. They are a -story, five-bay, vernacular

Federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

stone farmhouse with kitchen ell addition (1798, c. 1805); frame Pennsylvania

bank barn A bank barn or banked barn is a style of barn noted for its accessibility, at ground level, on two separate levels. Often built into the side of a hill, or bank, both the upper and the lower floors area could be accessed from ground level, one are ...

on a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

foundation (1890); -story stone cabin (1793); four stone and frame outbuildings; and three structures.

References

External links

Kissling Farm
(abridged profile). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Athenaeum, retrieved online September 25, 2019. {{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Farms on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Federal architecture in Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1805 Houses in Berks County, Pennsylvania 1805 establishments in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Berks County, Pennsylvania