Bernville can be explored through several distinct interests: a self-guided tour of Main Street, the Gothic Revival Evangelical Lutheran Friedens Church, local history at the library, as well as Koziar’s Christmas Village and the Sheidy Boat Launch. If you’re planning a stay, you can first choose your focus: historic details about the town, the Christmas lights experience, or the Sheidy Boat Launch as a specific destination.
Main Street, Church Architecture, and Canal History
The self-guided tour of Bernville’s Main Street begins at the entrance to Umbenhauer Park. With this clearly identified starting point and self-guided format, it offers an independent way to explore the town’s history. The Evangelical Lutheran Friedens Church offers a different focus: the church is built in the Gothic Revival style on its original site at the corner of Main Street and Washington Street. The tour focuses on Main Street, while the church draws attention to its architectural style and precise location.
The Union Canal adds a date and a specific local connection to these topics. It opened in 1828; Lock #36 was located just south of Main Street in Bernville. This provides a way to place the canal’s history in time and connect it to a specific point south of Main Street. Together, the tour, church, and canal offer different ways to explore Bernville: a self-guided look at Main Street, a Gothic Revival church, and the history of the canal.
Local History at the Library
The Bernville Area Community Library features rotating exhibits with objects from the collection of the Bernville Heritage & Cultural Society. Historical documents about Bernville are available in paper form at the library’s History Center; the library also houses a local history collection. These offer different forms of local history side by side: rotating exhibits featuring objects and historical documents in paper form.
The Bernville Heritage & Cultural Society has collected or acquired hundreds of historical objects related to the Borough of Bernville and the immediate surrounding area. The library exhibits display objects from this collection, adding a material dimension to the town’s history; the historical documents complement them with a written one. If you’re interested in Bernville’s past, you can explore the difference between an exhibit and the documents available in the History Center.
The town’s name offers another historical connection. In January 1820, Bernville was named after Berne, Switzerland, the hometown of Thomas Umbenhauer’s grandfather. This origin of the name adds a personal family history to the insights into church architecture, canal history, and collections.
Christmas Lights or Sheidy Boat Launch
Koziar’s Christmas Village offers a different focus: a vintage Christmas lights experience with a park-and-walk setup. The address is 782 Christmas Village Road, Bernville, Pennsylvania 19506. In character, the lights experience differs from both the Main Street tour and the historical exhibits at the library.
The Sheidy Boat Launch is located at 5998 Bernville Road in Bernville. Both destinations have a specific address you can use when planning your trip.
Discover more destinations: West Reading, Fleetwood, Reading, Macungie, Wyomissing, Wernersville, Boyertown, Mohnton.
For the broader travel overview: Berks.
