Souderton Area High School history

He moved here as a young man in his 40s, after Henry O. Souder built this home out of the left over stones from the railroad embankment in 1860.

In 1863, the railroad officially named our stop Souderton so as not to be confused with the village of Soudersburg in Lancaster County.

Godshall started a hay baling business on South Front St then, and built a feed mill in 1864 on Main Street.

3/1866 and Lizzie (Kulp) Yerger b.

Even though our fathers were starting businesses in town, they were all still farmers and you wouldn’t know by looking today, but this whole area was filled with farmland and barns even in 1875.

The first school in West Telford was built in 1876 on Poplar Street.

Godshall became the Superintendent of the German Sunday School in that church. It was in 1879 when the dream was realized and the Souderton Mennonite Meetinghouse was dedicated on Christmas Day of that year.

In 1881 William D. Hunsberger built a 2 story brick stable and hall, which he named Liberty Hall, at the rear of his hotel property on East Broad Street.

He opened up a cigar factory on East Broad Street in 1883.

“In 1886, he built the tallest, most impressive building in Souderton, complete with an elevator.”

By 1887 some of us were tired of the control shown by the rest of the township and petitioned for Souderton to become a borough and gain control of the Chestnut Street School.

Things went on like this for a few years when in 1897 thirteen Reformed men met to discuss the possibility of constructing their own building.

It took time to organize the congregation, elect and install the consistory and adopt the by-laws, but finally the first Communion was offered to 71 people on May 14, 1899.

The bank was chartered, the building completed and opened for business by December of 1908.

The first minister, who was chosen by lot in 1914, was Jacob M. Moyer, one of the owners of the Moyer and Son feed business.

Now the sewers specialized in producing men’s trousers for the New York market. It began as a shirt factory, then the building passed through a number of owners until Godshall and Koffel took over the business in the 1920s.

Eventually the property was sold to the North Penn Railroad Co and in 1927 this station was erected.

It was removed in 1928 when the new building and freight station were opened, which you can see to your right.

During this period of train commuting she met my father Chester Gegan on the train in 1936.

The former Liberty Bell Trolley Company tracks also ran along Main Street up to Perkasie and beyond in the 1950’s.

The last Telford elementary school was built in 1961 at its present location at 100 East Church Avenue.

Our town just grew and grew and in 1967 this school closed after larger elementary schools had been built in town.

In 1979, the congregation again found the building too small to fit the needs of this growing church.

Construction of the Souderton Area High School (SAHS) was completed in 2009, to include grades 9-12 at one building.

In 2015 there were a about 6,800 residents and 2,100 homes in Souderton Borough.