Ref: The Hearthstone Town and Country Pennsburg, Montgomery County, PA Thursday - June 26, 2003 VALLEY PAST by Larry Roeder Passing Through The Red Hill Hotel Sometimes it's great fun to take a look at a local business or industry and check out some of the past owners and operators. Not only do you learn about them, but you can also find out a great deal about special events that took place there. Most often the structure served as a facilitator. Due to it's size, convenience, or nature of the business, it was just a great place to hold a special event. Take the Red Hill Hotel for example. The rear portion of the hotel is reported to have been built prior to 1800. The owner of the property in 1806 was innkeeper Solomon FRIES. Solomon was the oldest son of John FRIES, the leading spirit of the FRIES Rebellion. John was caught, tried and sentenced to death for his actions in the insurrection. He was saved from the hangman's noose when President John ADAMS pardoned him in 1799. The section of Route 663 through Milford Township today carries the moniker of John FRIES Highway. Other early owners of the inn were Adam HILLEGASS and his son George. In 1806 Adam bought the property from FRIES, and in 1811 sold it to George. He opened it as a hotel or public house as they were called back then. It was known as the Hillegassville Hotel at the time. George ran the business until his death at which time his son Josiah inherited it. Josiah sold it to Henry HEVENER in 1859. >From HEVENER, the property passed to George MILLER, Lewis KLINE and Henry B. AUCHY. AUCHY was a liquor and produce distributor. It was AUCHY who added the impressive tower to the southeast corner of the building. It was also AUCHY who built the racetrack about a quarter of a mile off Main Street that brought Red Hill quite a bit of notoriety during the late 1800's and early 1900's. AUCHY would go on to greater notoriety. In the late 1890's, AUCHY bought 16 acres of land just outside of Philadelphia near Chestnut Hill. In 1898 he opened the "White City" amusement park. In 1899 AUCHY traded in his racing harnesses for hand-carved carousel horses when he teamed up with partner Louis BERNI to form the Philadelphia Carousal Company. By 1903, he set aside the fast drink for fast coasters when he and Chester ALBRIGHT formed the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, a premier maker of roller coaster cars. Still in business today, the PTC is the oldest roller coaster ride manufacturer in the world. The next owner of the hotel was Charles WAGNER who, in 1896, sold it to local veterinarian Jesse HILLEGASS. HILLEGASS became one of the hardiest supporters of the horseracing set. Prior to 1920, another prominent owner of the hotel was Adam SCHEIDT. SCHEIDT came to the United States in 1878, and went into business with his brother Charles as owner-operators of a small brewery and saloon in Norristown. After his brother died in 1884, Adam took over the business. He affected the incorporation of the business in 1890, and became president and general manager. SCHEIDT was a master at business and under his guiding mind, the brewery grew and prospered from a small two-man operation to a sprawling building complex that took up seven-and-one-half acres! He purchased inns and public houses at strategic locations in Montgomery County to sell and feature his malt brews. SCHEIDT's brewery in Norristown was eventually sold to SCHMIDT's Brewing Company of Philadelphia. The owners and operators were only part of the attraction of the establishment over the years. The Red Hill Hotel saw its share of special meetings and events during the same time. Among them was the first formal meeting of the Red Hill Band around 1900. That was the gathering where the new group elected John RENNINGER as their president, Adam MCLEAN as secretary and John GERY treasurer. The Red Hill Hotel was the hub of activity before and after the municipality became a borough. It was at the hotel where the local residents gathered to nominate a burgess (mayor), seven council members, six school directors, a high constable and a constable. It's interesting to note that a newspaper item reported that at this special nominating meeting, "party line were ignored and only one ticket was placed in the field - that of the Citizens party." Speaking of voting, more than 80 percent of the eligible voters turned out for Red Hill's first election on December 2, 1902. On August 10, 1910, over 1,000 people gathered around a beautifully decorated bandstand at the Red Hill Hotel (then known as the BERGEY Hotel), to witness the coming of electrical power to the borough. At exactly 8 p.m., power surged through the newly strung electric lines and lit up 36 streetlights and brought electricity into six Red Hill homes! The Red Hill Hotel played host to other prominent people and events over the years. Some of them are forever forgotten. We'll never know how many decisions were made over a meal in the dining room, or how many friendships were forged over a pint of SCHEIDT's Valley Forge brew. Picture - Austrian Master Brewer Adam SCHEIDT sold the Red Hill Hotel to Broom Maker Irwin RICHARD in 1920. Picture - The Hillegassville (Red Hill) Hotel as it appeared in 1897 along Main Street at Sixth Street played host to prominent people and events. Picture - The first carousel produced by former Hillegassville (Red Hill) Hotel owner Henry AUCHY's Philadelphia Carousel Company was placed in AUCHY's "White City" amusement park. C1899.