HOURS:

WEDNESDAY - FRIDAY | 4 - 10PM
SATURDAY- SUNDAY | 12- 10PM

ABOUT:

Tucked along Monoshone Creek at the edge of Wissahickon Valley Park, Historic RittenhouseTown offers a window into the beginnings of American industry. In 1690, William Rittenhouse and his son Nicholas established the first paper mill in British North America, using the creek’s flowing water to power production. The mill supplied paper to printers in Philadelphia, Germantown, and New York, helping support the region’s growing publishing trade.

The surrounding settlement grew into a close-knit village with homes, workshops, barns, mills, a schoolhouse, a fire station, and other buildings that supported generations of workers and their families. Today, several historic structures remain, including the 1707 Rittenhouse Homestead and the Bake House, which still contains a working beehive oven. The site also marks the birthplace of celebrated astronomer and inventor David Rittenhouse.

Now preserved as a National Historic Landmark, Historic RittenhouseTown invites visitors to explore its centuries-old buildings, scenic landscape, educational programs, and hands-on demonstrations while discovering the people and ideas that shaped one of America’s earliest industrial communities

FIND IT ON GOOGLE MAPS HERE.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION:

Historic Rittenhouse Town is accessible by public transportation, including the SEPTA 65 bus route and the Chestnut Hill Regional Rail Line (Tulpehocken Station). 

PARKING:

Parking is available free of charge between the Visitor Center (208) and its neighboring building (209).

FACEBOOK: Historic Rittenhouse Town