Inside Pennypacker Mills in Montgomery County, artifacts from America's founding persist

An estate in Perkiomen Township served as a former Pennsylvania governor's home, and before that, it housed a Founding Father during the Revolutionary War. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

After you ring the bell and step inside Pennypacker Mills, Carl Klase will probably be the person to meet you at the door.

"The main person we talk about is Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker," Klase, the historic site supervisor at Pennypacker Mills, said.

Klase knows every inch of the mansion and property, which is now run by Montgomery County.

Before that, eight generations of Pennypackers lived on the property from 1747 to 1980. Samuel Pennypacker, who served as Pennsylvania's 23rd governor, owned the home in the early 1900s.

While in office, Pennypacker created the state police and passed the state's first libel law and child labor laws. Outside of work, he was an avid collector, much of which is on display inside the home.

"One of the things that's unique about our property is over 90% of the things on display actually did belong to the Pennypacker family," Klase said.

The judge turned governor, who was also a former president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, could be described in modern times as a history buff without question. His vast collection also includes quite a few nods to George Washington.

"We're going to head into what the family referred to as the Washington bedroom," Klase said. "George Washington supposedly slept in this room in the fall of 1777."

That all happened around the Germantown campaign, Klase explained. He added that Washington, the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and America's first president, allegedly stayed with his troops on the property twice during the Revolutionary War.

"When you walk the grounds here, this is a perfect defensive," Klase said. "Artifacts have been found on the property, including cannonballs, musket balls."

All things Pennypacker made sure to preserve for future generations, and really, that's just a small piece of it.

"We don't only focus on [Pennypacker], but we talk about the servants that lived and worked here. We talk about the daughters and different things. The oldest daughter doing artwork and different things," Klase said. "There's so much more to the story here than just Samuel or George Washington."

Tours at Pennypacker Mills are offered Tuesday through Sunday and are free to the public. There are also several America 250 events happening on the property.