JOHAN DeTURK HOUSE (1767):
Family History:
The DeTurk family is of French Huguenot descent and
is descendant from Isaac DeTurk who immigrated to the
Hudson River valley in New York in 1708. Isaac was from
Picardy in northern France. In 1685, the Revocation
of the Edict of Nantes occurred prompting Huguenots
throughout France and Alsace-Loraine to begin fleeing
into areas like England, Holland, Switzerland, Germany,
Sweden, Italy, and even Ireland. After the Protestant
persecution in France, Isaac opted to flee to America
after living for a time in the Alsace-Loraine region
of Germany. The DeTurks were among the many Huguenot
refugees who eventually made their way to America. In
1712, Isaac came to the Oley Valley from New York.
Johan DeTurk was the only son of Isaac DeTurk and was
born in 1713. He married Deborah Hoch in 1740 and they
had twelve children. Among the DeTurk children, were
Revolutionary War soldiers (one of whose equipment is
on display at the New Jersey Washington Crossing State
Park). Also, son John was the third owner of the old
Boone farm where Daniel Boone was born. There are currently
many DeTurks buried in a family plot at the Daniel Boone
Homestead State Historic Site. Johan and Deborah DeTurk
were elderly when they moved into the ancillary building
on the family farm.
The 1759 tax list has John DeTurk paying thirty-five
Pounds in taxes. In 1876, a J.D. DeTurk was listed as
a carpenter and a George S. DeTurk was listed as a farmer.
Social History:
With Johan DeTurk apparently being of Moravian faith,
the DeTurk farm became the center of Moravian activity
in the Oley Valley during the time of Count Nikolaus
Zinzendorf. Zinzendorf was a bishop of the reformed
Moravian Church and was active in the Moravian population
around Bethlehem. Zinzendorf was born in Dresden in
1700 and had arrived in Philadelphia in 1741. He held
a series of conferences whose purpose was an attempt
to unify the various German branches of religion (Moravian,
Seventh Day Baptists, Dunkards, Separatists, Lutheran,
Mennonite, and Reformed). The third of Zinzendorf’s
conferences was held at the DeTurk farm in the Oley
Valley. The Oley Conference took place on the DeTurk
property (possibly in the stone barn) from February
10-12, 1742. One significant accomplishment of the conference
was the first Indian (three Mohicans from New York)
baptism by the Moravians. Near the farm was also the
location of an early Moravian school. Although these
activities did not take place in the ancillary house
proper, they are significant to the history of the property
with which this building is associated. Count Zinzendorf
would die in 1760.
Isaac DeTurk also took part in local political maneuverings.
A petition for the creation of the Oley Road was signed
by Isaac DeTurk in 1717. Apparently, however, the road
was not approved until 1719. I believe that modern-day
Route 662 is the Oley Road. The northern-most stretch
of the Great Road from Oley to Philadelphia would have
been the road that runs from Route 662, along the creek,
and past the DeTurk house. In 1720, Isaac signed the
failed petition for the creation of Oley Township. Oley
Township was not created until 1740.
It seems as though by the mid to late nineteenth century
the old ancillary property had no significant function
anymore. A 1935 Reading Eagle article stated that the
structure was the home for a family of hogs. It had
also been used to house migrant workers.
Architectural History:
Located near Oley very close to the Manatawny Creek,
it was an ancillary house located on the property of
Johan and Deborah DeTurk. Johan had built the larger
stone house which is located across the street. It was
later in life that Johan and Deborah built and moved
into this more modest ancillary house. The doorway lintel
has the inscription “Johan DeTirck—1767—Debora
DeTircken” inscribed on it.
The building is an example of the Huguenot and Germanic
influence on the Oley Valley and is a bank house. The
structure is a one and a half story, one-room plan building.
There is a gable end entrance with doors and shutters
with painted bird and flower motifs. At least in 1931,
there was an interior wall cupboard that also had a
painted decoration. These painted motifs are also reflected
in Pennsylvania German painted blanket chests of the
same period. The ground floor consists of a vaulted
cellar with a kitchen on the north end. The cellar proper
is separated from the kitchen by a stone wall. There
is no staircase to the first floor. The chimney at the
rear of the structure services not only the kitchen
fireplace, but also the smaller fireplace on the first
floor.
The first floor is a single room with a narrow, unfinished
winding stair (not an original) to the attic. The attic
is an open space. There is no significant trim work
(i.e. chair rails, cornice, and base boards). There
is a massive chamfered summer beam in the building.
This seems unusual since the building is small enough
to be spanned by joists. However, if heavy objects were
being stored upstairs, the summer beam would become
a necessity; this could account for the loading door
at the attic level in the gable end. With a door and
pulley, the garret was utilized as a granary. The clay
tiles for the roof were hand-made.
The pent roofs of the building are open on the end.
According to Ken LeVan, this is a virtually absent feature
in this region which is quite common in Europe. At some
point, a large truck sheared the pent roof off the front
of the structure. An addition to the west which was
connected at the first floor with door cut through the
west wall was removed at some point. Also, the original
roof construction has been replaced. A bake oven opening
has also been closed up on the west wall with stone.
Originally, the ground floor exterior door would have
had a hood over it. Much of the original pointing remains
and there is a section of original plaster extant on
the first floor. The second story door is a replacement
which closely copies the original. All the shutters
have been replaced.
The Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County completed
restoration on the structure using funds from the Women’s
Club of Oley in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1991,
Lester Breininger made twenty-five roof tiles to replace
the ridge tiles for the roof.
Property History:
In approximately 1712, Isaac DeTurk moved to the Oley
Valley and purchased three hundred acres near Friedensburg
or present-day Oley. In 1725, Isaac DeTurk owned 300
acres and a homestead. DeTurk’s rent for this
land was 10 Pounds per 100 acres plus an annual quit
rent of one shilling. The 1734 tax list also lists John
DeTurk (son of Isaac) as owning 300 acres. Even though
his mother was still alive, it appears that son John
was running and/or owned the same amount of land by
1750 and still owned it in 1775. John inherited the
large family farm in 1761 after his mother’s death.
At least well into the nineteenth century, DeTurk descendants
continued to own the family farm. The 1854 Berks County
Atlas shows a J. DeTurk as the resident and the 1862
Berks County Atlas lists a John DeTurk for the property.
By 1958, the property was owned by Dwight Moyer and
William Gotwalls and was vacant. In 1967, the Historic
Preservation Trust of Berks County obtained a 100 year
lease on the property from the Gotwalls family. Funds
were obtained from the Women’s Club of Oley.
The Johan DeTurk cabin is open every day by advance appointment
only. Please contact the Trust office at least 14 days
in advance of your trip to make an appointment. Whenever
possible, please supply 2 alternate appointment dates.
From Rt. 12 (Pricetown Road), take Rt. 73 East 3.8
miles. Turn right to DeTurk Road. As you turn, you will
see a historical marker on the left-hand side of the
road. Proceed on DeTurk road to the “Y”
in the road. Turn right onto Historic Lane. Go 200 feet
to the cabin.
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