The Speaker's House

On 8/21/13, the club had the honor of hosting Lisa Minardi as the speaker.  Lisa is the president of the Board of Trustees for The Speaker's House.  She spoke to us with great passion about the extensive work being done under her leadership to preserve this historical home in Trappe. 

The mission of The Speaker’s House is to celebrate the heritage and home of Frederick Muhlenberg, the first Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and create programs to inspire leadership and civic engagement in the timeless issues of our nation.

In 1999 a grassroots effort led by local citizens saved from demolition the former residence of Frederick Muhlenberg. After gaining non-profit status, the board embarked on an awareness-raising campaign in order to raise the funds necessary to purchase the building. The first fund raising event was hosted by then-Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.

In 2006, the Montgomery County Commissioners granted The Speaker’s House $415,000 to purchase the 1.9 acre property and house through the Green Towns/Green Fields program, placing the  property under a conservation easement in order to ensure that it is permanently preserved as open space.Following her speech, several club members were invited to a special tour of the house.  We got a chance to look at the extensive restoration work being done to restore this property to its originally condition.  

After the tour, Diana Kaplan presented Lisa with a book titled The Muhlenbegs of Pennsylvania from Diana & David's private library.  

If you are interested in finding out more information about this historical site or are interested in volunteering to help, please visit www.speakershouse.org or contact them at The Speaker's House, PO Box 26686, Trappe, PA 19426  Tel: (610) 489-2105

Pictures of the event can be seen in our photo album