Mouns Jones House

Mouns Jones House. , Oldest Documented House in Berks County , Mans Jonasson (1663-1727) was descended from Swedes who settled in present day Philadelphia, along with the lower Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, in 1638. Later known as Mouns Jones he was the first European settler in what would eventually become Berks County. In 1701 William Penn granted tracts of land along the Schuylkill River to seventeen Swedes in what is now Amity Township. Mouns Jones was the only one of those seventeen grantees to actually settle on one of the tracts, establishing his "plantation" by around 1704. The Delaware Valley's early Swedish settlers were a nautical people who depended on the region's rivers for travel and livelihood. Each of the Swedes' tracts had river frontage, and it was typical that Mouns and his wife, Ingeborg, established their home on the river bank. Their tract, though narrow, extended several miles inland., The area where Mouns and Ingeborg Jones settled with their six children eventually became known as Morlatton. Their first home was probably a log house. This stone house was constructed in 1716, a date permanently recorded by a remarkable date-stone on the riverside wall of the house. Swedish settlers had been gradually adopting a more English way of life, and the house reflects that transition. It is laid out on a hall-parlor plan and constructed in a style reminiscent of Pennsylvania's English Quaker settlers, with corner fireplace and a floor plan of two rooms. A cooking fireplace was constructed at the northwest gable end of the house and included a bee hive oven. Although the house may seem modest by modern eyes, it was a substantial mansion by 1716 standards., Mouns Jones and his extended family became important members of the fledgling community. Prosperous farmers, they collaborated with other local leaders such as the Boone family. A former fur trader, Mouns Jones entertained delegations of Native Americans and arranged conferences, held at his farmstead, between provincial officials and Native American leaders., The family of Mouns Jones owned the homestead until 1745, when his son Andrew sold it. The property changed hands several more times until 1965 when the Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County acquired the house through a gift of the Roy Schurr family, with the stipulation that it be restored. On January 21, 1974 the house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Trust continues in its mission to authentically restore the house and preserve it in its historic form.