Siegfried's Dale Farm, also known as the Rodale Research Center or Rodale Institute, is an historic, American home and farm complex that is located in

Maxatawny Township, Pennsylvania Maxatawny Township is a township in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,906 at the 2010 census. History Maxatawny is a name derived from a Native American language purported to mean "bear's path creek". The Boyer- ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1984.

History and architectural features

This property includes thirteen contributing buildings, a contributing structure and three houses that were built between 1790 and 1827, the John and Catherina Siegfried

Bank barn A bank barn or banked barn is a style of barn which is accessible from the ground, on two separate levels. Often built into the side of a hill or bank, the upper and the lower floors could both be accessed from the ground, one area at the top of ...

(1819, 1905), calving barn (c. 1900), two small barns (c. 1860 and c. 1900), a

corn crib A corn crib or corncrib is a type of granary used to dry and store corn. It may also be known as a cornhouse or corn house. Overview After the harvest and while still on the cob, corn is placed in the crib either with or without the husk. The ...

, the Henry Siegfried Bank barn (mid-nineteenth century), a spring and rendering house (c. 1790 and c. 1880), a one-story brick school house (1906), a

smokehouse A smokehouse (North American) or smokery (British) is a building where meat or fish is curing (food preservation), cured with Smoking (cooking), smoke. The finished product might be stored in the building, sometimes for a year or more.carriage house A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two ...

(c. 1880). The John and Catherina Siegfried house (1790) is a -story, four-bay,

rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...

stone house with a

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

gable roof. The Henry Siegfried house (1827) is a -story, five-bay, rubble stone house that was designed in the Georgian style. The Johannes Siegfried house (1790) is a -story, four-bay, sided rubble stone dwelling with a three-bay Victorian porch.Victorian Porch website
/ref> Moravian settler Johannes Siegfried acquired the property in 1732. It remained in the Siegfried family until being acquired in 1971 by

The Rodale Institute Rodale Institute is a non-profit organization that supports research into organic farming. It was founded in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, in 1947 by J. I. Rodale, an organic living entrepreneur. After J.I. Rodale died in 1971, his son Robert Rodale purc ...

. ''Note:'' This includes It was listed on the

in 1984.

Gallery

File:Henry Siegfried Barn, Siegfried's Dale Farm 01.JPG, Henry Siegfried Barn File:Johannes and Gertraud Siegfried House, Siegfried's Dale Farm 04.JPG, Johannes and Gertraud Siegfried House File:John and Catherina Siegfried Barn, Siegfried's Dale Farm 01.JPG, John and Catherina Siegfried Barn File:Calving Barn, Siegfried's Dale Farm.JPG, Calving barn File:Bell at Siegfried's Dale Farm.JPG, Bell at path to barnyard

References

External links

Rodale Institute website
{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Farms on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Georgian architecture in Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1790 Houses in Berks County, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Berks County, Pennsylvania