Weis Stone Buildings

Weis Stone Buildings. . When the first settlers arrived here in the early 1840s, they found a heavily forested, rugged wilderness. In pre-mechanized north-central Pennsylvania, clearing the land was no simple task, and the first homes built by the pioneers were likely of log or rudimentary wood frame construction. Clearly, the community's most substantial home was the sandstone built in 1845 by George Weis, which, even today, is one the few stone buildings in the entire city. , , Weis (1805-1877) was born in Alsace and as a small boy moved with his parents to the United States, living first in Baltimore and later in Philadelphia. In 1826 he wed Juliana Weisenberger; their union would endure for 51 years. In September 1844, Weis and his family left Philadelphia during the "Know-Nothing" anti-Catholic riots that were occurring in the eastern cities. They made their way to the new community of Sanct Marienstadt, which had been settled two years earlier by other German Catholics seeking religious tolerance. Weis brought along a substantial store of goods and established himself as a merchant in the new settlement. Within a year of his arrival, he built this stone building, which served as both his store and his residence. He made his home here for the next thirty years and became the community's first leading merchant. His 1877 obituary noted that "he had a great deal to do with making the settlement of St. Marys a success." The house originally had a front porch but this feature was replaced with the present pair of pedimented Neo-Classical Revival-style frontispieces which were likely added in the 1930s. The George Weis House was later used as the Meisel Funeral Home and for many years has been the home of the Stackpole-Hall Foundation, a leading local philanthropic organization. , , About 1865, Weis erected the corner building which served as the harness shop of Albert Weis. It was later the Weis Funeral Home and also housed the local Red and White Grocery Store. Red and White stores once dotted the country and were among the first franchised grocery chains. The corner building is somewhat more highly detailed than the Weis house of twenty years earlier, incorporating the temple form facade characteristic of the Greek Revival style, with partial returns of the cornice on the front gable end.