Perkasie Borough designates
Perkasie Park as historic structure
PERKASIE, Pa. (January 21, 2015) On Monday night at a special public hearing, Perkasie Borough Council designated Perkasie Park, a privately owned former religious camp meeting ground, as the first locally recognized Historic Structure in the Borough’s 136-year-old history.
Council approved the motion to designate Perkasie Park as a Historic Structure under Section 102 of its municipal code as adopted in 1995. The Borough, as stated in its Comprehensive Plan, considers the legislative action as a “voluntary designation [that} confers no specific protection.” But the designation will allow the Park to petition other Borough commissions and agencies for relief considerations.
“We commend Perkasie Borough Council for its good-faith efforts to support local Historic Preservation by aggressively honoring the local historic structure process in its code,” said Scott Bomboy, the president of the Perkasie Park Association. “The Park was the first local group to seek such a hearing, which was extremely beneficial to Council and the Park members who attended it.”
The local Historic Structure designation is separate from the Park’s efforts to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places, Bomboy said, but it was equally important to get recognition and support from Borough Council.
“Like politics, all historic preservation is local, and the participation of local government is essential when it comes maintaining the character of a town we all cherish and support,” he said.
In November 2014, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission granted Perkasie Park a determination of eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places.
The PHMC said the Park met the criteria because of its important local and national role in the camp meeting movement, and because of its architecture. The final approval process is underway and the Park expects to be on the National Register by late March.
Perkasie Park will become just the second structure in Perkasie on the National Park Service’s National Historic Register, joining the town’s iconic South Perkasie Covered Bridge, which is located in Lenape Park and was named to the Register in 1980.
The Perkasie Park Association was granted a state charter of incorporation in 1882. It brought thousands of visitors to town during Perkasie’s boom era between 1888 and the1940s, when it hosted large camp meetings, summer retreats, Perkasie’s high school graduation ceremony, the town’s Memorial Day services, and family reunions.
The Park, in affiliation with the Methodist Church and other local churches, has maintained outdoor services in its historic auditorium since 1886.
Today, Perkasie Park is a Section 501 (c) (7) corporation organized “for the purposes of the maintenance of a private park in Perkasie Borough for the holding of religious meetings, Sunday School celebrations and other moral gatherings and to facilitate personal contact, commingling and fellowship among the members in connection therewith.”
For more information, contact:
Scott Bomboy, President, The Perkasie Park Association, 200 South Ninth Street, Perkasie, PA. Phone: 215-527-1016. E-mail: sbomboy@yahoo.com. Media can use images, with credit, available at www.perkasiepark.com.
PERKASIE, Pa. (January 21, 2015) On Monday night at a special public hearing, Perkasie Borough Council designated Perkasie Park, a privately owned former religious camp meeting ground, as the first locally recognized Historic Structure in the Borough’s 136-year-old history.
Council approved the motion to designate Perkasie Park as a Historic Structure under Section 102 of its municipal code as adopted in 1995. The Borough, as stated in its Comprehensive Plan, considers the legislative action as a “voluntary designation [that} confers no specific protection.” But the designation will allow the Park to petition other Borough commissions and agencies for relief considerations.
“We commend Perkasie Borough Council for its good-faith efforts to support local Historic Preservation by aggressively honoring the local historic structure process in its code,” said Scott Bomboy, the president of the Perkasie Park Association. “The Park was the first local group to seek such a hearing, which was extremely beneficial to Council and the Park members who attended it.”
The local Historic Structure designation is separate from the Park’s efforts to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places, Bomboy said, but it was equally important to get recognition and support from Borough Council.
“Like politics, all historic preservation is local, and the participation of local government is essential when it comes maintaining the character of a town we all cherish and support,” he said.
In November 2014, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission granted Perkasie Park a determination of eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places.
The PHMC said the Park met the criteria because of its important local and national role in the camp meeting movement, and because of its architecture. The final approval process is underway and the Park expects to be on the National Register by late March.
Perkasie Park will become just the second structure in Perkasie on the National Park Service’s National Historic Register, joining the town’s iconic South Perkasie Covered Bridge, which is located in Lenape Park and was named to the Register in 1980.
The Perkasie Park Association was granted a state charter of incorporation in 1882. It brought thousands of visitors to town during Perkasie’s boom era between 1888 and the1940s, when it hosted large camp meetings, summer retreats, Perkasie’s high school graduation ceremony, the town’s Memorial Day services, and family reunions.
The Park, in affiliation with the Methodist Church and other local churches, has maintained outdoor services in its historic auditorium since 1886.
Today, Perkasie Park is a Section 501 (c) (7) corporation organized “for the purposes of the maintenance of a private park in Perkasie Borough for the holding of religious meetings, Sunday School celebrations and other moral gatherings and to facilitate personal contact, commingling and fellowship among the members in connection therewith.”
For more information, contact:
Scott Bomboy, President, The Perkasie Park Association, 200 South Ninth Street, Perkasie, PA. Phone: 215-527-1016. E-mail: sbomboy@yahoo.com. Media can use images, with credit, available at www.perkasiepark.com.