Shelter House is a historic home located in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. Constructed in 1734, it is believed to be the oldest continuously occupied building structure in both Lehigh County and the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

and among the oldest still-standing building structures in the U.S. state of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

History

The first floor was built around 1734. In 1741, a three-room second story and a two-story annex were added. The house was built by early Pennsylvania German settlers and is a medieval-type Germanic log house made out of oak and chestnut and measuring approximately 40 feet by 25 feet. Mud, straw, and horse hair were used as the filling, or chinking, in between the gaps in the log walls, providing protection and insulation from outside elements. It has a gable roof and large, square stone chimney. The Shelter House got its name from the German word "zufluchtshaus," meaning "house of refuge or shelter." The House is situated in a clearing of woods along a well-traveled Indian path and often served as a stopover for travelers. The house was inhabited at a time when there existed conflicts in the area between American settlers and British colonialists and Native Americans. Many years later after the founding of

Emmaus Emmaus (; Greek: Ἐμμαούς, ''Emmaous''; la, Emmaus; , ''Emmaom''; ar, عمواس, ''ʻImwas'') is a town mentioned in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament. Luke reports that Jesus appeared, after his death and resurrection, before tw ...

in 1759, the House became a

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared b ...

and tavern for wayfarers. In 1952, the cabin was purchased at a public sale by a group of preservationists who raised $35,000 to stabilize and restore the structure and its grounds. In 1963, the Borough of Emmaus assumed ownership of the property, while the Shelter House Society continues with the responsibility of maintenance and preservation. In 1978, it was added to 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 ...

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Emmaus, Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1741 Houses in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Log buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania