219 North St., Meyersdale, PA
"Stay at the Mayor's"
The Burgess' House
Graceful, but with the inviting setting of a 19th century family home. The Burgess' House offers guests both comfort and convenience at the JC Hostetler home on a quiet residential street in the historic district of Meyersdale.
Built in 1897 by JC and Ellen (Miller) Hostetler, this Eastlake Victorian home has been renovated by JC's great grandchildren, retaining the architecture and furnishings of the five generations of the Hostetler family who lived here and parted with nothing.
Indians, Tornadoes, and Curmudgeons
You're not likely to encounter any of these during your stay; however, you will find yourself surrounded by family photos, books, and artifacts throughout the house from the bedrooms to the enclosed sun porch. A little knowledge of family history and houses will make your stay at our home a bit more interesting.
Upon arriving in America with other Amish settlers, Jacob Hostetler settled his family at the Northkill Fort in Berks County north of Philadelphia. Appropriate was the name, for in 1757, Indians allied with the French attacked the settlement.
Being a pacifist, Jacob would not permit his family to return a defense. With such an advantage, the Indians burnt his cabin, forcing the family to flee the structure where upon they shot or tomahawked the younger children, scalped the mother and took captive Jacob and two sons. Scalping a woman was apparently unusual. There is speculation the Indians may have disliked Mrs. Hostetler, and given the strongly opinionated and assertive nature of the family females, they may have good reason.
Jacob and sons were soon separated and Jacob taken to an Indian town near Lake Erie. Upon his presentation to the chief, Jacob offered him peaches he had quickly stuffed into his pockets when leaving his farm. This gift spared him from running the gauntlet and likely saved his life. Ever since, no Hostetler family ever takes a trip without ridiculous stores of food in their baggage.
Jacob and his sons both eventually returned home but Northkill had been abandoned. After the French and Indian War, Jacob and family set their eyes on new real estate. They settled on the beautiful, if not rugged, high plateau outside present day Summit Mills (a lovely side road or bike trip -- see routes on topographical maps on the sun porch) just west of Meyersdale. If they wanted to be left alone, they had picked the right spot. Indians made only occasional summer camps in the region, General Edward Braddock cursed the terrain and English settlers kept right on going westward to more pleasant lands of the Ohio River valley.
Until 1998, the pioneer home built there by Jacob's elder son John Hostetler, (who was not present at the time of Indian attack) stood over 200 years next to the family graveyard and was known as the "Little House" as John called it in his will. Tornadoes, an unheard of phenomenon to this region, crossed the property on June 2 and the final twister seriously damaged the home. The foundation remains, but the structure is being rebuilt from the building's remains in the Spruce Forest at Penn Alps in Grantsville, MD. alongside several important 18th century pioneer structures.
John had 'jumped the fence' early, meaning he no longer belonged to the Amish church. It also meant his descendent John C. "JC" Hostetler could live "English", or in the modern world with all its appointments.
JC married Ellen Miller and later, her father gave her the lot for the North Street home in 1889. JC was a dealer of farm machinery and buggies, mayor, or burgess (a copy of the town council and burgess meetings can be read in the guest house) of Meyersdale, treasurer of the town's first school board, father of eight surviving (of 14) children and renowned tightwad and curmudgeon. Their 1897 Eastlake Victorian was patterned after the architectural philosophy of Sir Charles Eastlake which stressed a simpler (and cheaper) Victorian style for the middle class. These homes emphasized inside elegance, such as the woodwork, rather than the unaffordable elaborate outside structure.
JC's six sons were employed in business or were small business owners themselves (a shoe store and coal mining for James Blaine). Son Frank managed all stable and things equestrian for Marshall Fields for the Hostetler's had a love for and a talent with animals, particularly horses. Son Gene raised Russian borzoi hounds; the pups' pictures are displayed atop the piano in the guest house. Every creature was a potential pet and they played prominently in family life was is evidence by the many picture albums in which every human figure is accomplished by some animal.
The two daughters (Margaret and Emma) were teachers, for JC insisted upon a college education for them. This enlightened thinking was more common sense economics in the father's mind -- women should not support themselves and their children by labor, they had to live by their minds. Should they become widowed, abandoned or divorced, his daughters could properly care for their families and he wouldn't have to support them.
When the saintly mother Ellen passed on, JC, the curmudgeon became distraught. He sat daily in his rocker at the large foyer window, with a pair of her petite shoes at his side table, tears now his constant companion. He did not live long thereafter.
The Next Generation and the Guest House
The house was then occupied by his daughter Emma Hostetler Deal, who, having no children, rented the upstairs out as guest or rental quarters. Upon her death in the mid 1960's, the house passed to her nephew, James M Hostetler, his wife Frances and their four children.
Frances Hostetler updated the home but also restored much of the woodwork and rescued family pieces left unused for decades. This was not easy to do with four teenagers and a husband who raised canaries and flying squirrels on the back sun porch in addition to the normal family pets and hobbies. (Racehorse training he had given up, but insisted on riding his snowmobile and trail motorcycle past age 80).
For years, the lights were always on at 219 North Street, providing a meeting place for teenagers, town matrons, and 12 grandchildren. In 2002, having been proceeded in death by his wife, James Hostetler died and the house stood unused until 2004 when their children decided to renovate the home and offer it as a guest house to area visitors.
Since our opening, we have hosted family reunions, lodging for wedding parties, a restful place for bereaved attending funerals, a graduation party, returning alumni, cyclists, vacation home renters, and other guests all in the setting and spirit of "home."
Reservations and Inquiries
814-662-2436
or
margarethostetler@hotmail.com
