Kilted Owl: Celtic Connections: Morgan Log House

Morgan Log House in Towamencin, Pennsylvania

The Morgan Log House is a historic log house located in Towamencin, Pennsylvania, USA. The house itself was lived in from 1774 to 1964, but the land was owned decades before that. The original owners of the land had Celtic heritage.

The land was settled in 1708 by the Morgan family, who were Welsh Quakers. Edward Morgan and his wife, Elizabeth, purchased 309 acres of land from a merchant named Griffith Jones. The Morgans were one of the earliest Welsh settlers in Towamencin. The family had a long line of well-known family members as the years progressed. The original Morgans who settled the land were the maternal grandparents of Daniel Boone!

The Morgans sold the property to John Yaekel in 1770, who built the log house between 1770 and 1774. It was named after the Morgans because people later thought that the Morgan family lived in the house, but they never did. Experts were able to look at the logs that make up the house and determine that they date back to 1770, which was after it was sold to Yaekel.

Yaekel sold the house and property to the Cassels, who were the family who lived on the land the longest at 99 years. The Cassels and the Morgans were cloth makers, using the property and house to do their business.

Eventually, the land was sold and divided among successors. The remaining 17 acres were set to be sold, and eventually, the house was going to be demolished. Towamencin Township Supervisor John B. Jacobs fought to save the Morgan Log House and it was restored in 1976.

The Morgan Log House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Today, the house still stands on 1.72 acres of land. The house is still standing today. They host a variety of events, and people can visit for tours.

There is a silo that stands as a reminder of the Pennsylvania Bank Barn that once stood on the property. Next to the house, there is a small colonial kitchen garden that is maintained by a volunteer and contains many of the plants that were planted in the garden throughout its history. These plants were used for cooking and medicine, with some even being used for dyes.