PO Box 514, 214 Main Street
Green Lane, PA 18054
Tel: 215-234-8633
Hours: Tuesday – Thursday 9:30 am – 12:30 pm

Green Lane Borough is governed by Green Lane Borough Council, which meets the 2nd Thursday of each month in the Green Lane Borough Office at the Green Lane Fire House at 7 pm.

Borough News

History

Area History

Green Lane Borough, with just over 500 residents and covering three-tenths of  a square mile, is the Upper Perkiomen Valley’s smallest municipality. Located in one of the most beautiful and open areas of Montgomery County, Green Lane was established in 1875 and was once part of Marlborough Township. The first European settlements began around 1730 and included Swiss, German, and French Huguenots. Encouraged to come to Pennsylvania by William Penn, immigrants were issued land grants to those willing to settle here.

Green Lane Forge and Furnace

The earliest ironworks in the Perkiomen Valley was Green Lane Forge, sometimes called Green Lane Iron Works. It was built in 1733 by Thomas Mayburry of whom little is known. This famous forge was situated at the mouth of a narrow ravine just above Green Lane. The Borough of Green Lane was named for the evergreens overhanging the tortuous lane which formerly ran from the highway to the forge.

Photo caption: Iron Master’s House: 100 Main Street, Green Lane

The enterprising Thomas Mayburry showed good judgment in erecting a forge at a spot well-endowed by nature. The strong stream was easily dammed between the steep banks, providing an abundance of water power. The forge property included what is now the entire borough of Green Lane, and 1,200 acres of surrounding land. This woodland supplied the necessary charcoal to heat the pig iron for forging (Bulletin of Historical Society of Montgomery County, Vol. 1, No. 3, October 1948).

Red Men’s Hall

Red Men’s Hall was the home of the Order of Red Men of Tohickon Tribe 386, one of the fraternal social clubs that flourished in the U.S. before World War II. The Red Men took their name and rituals from Native Americans. Like the Owls, Moose and Eagles, the Red Men had hundreds of members for 60 or 70 years. In 1908, the Red Men of Green Lane built a late-Victorian building as a lodge hall. Fraternal organizations like the Red Men had an important role in the social fabric of the first half of the 20th century and even offered health insurance to members. Today, the building is home to the Goschenhoppen Historians Museum. The historians purchased the building from the remaining Red Men in 1971. (Information from The Morning Call, article by Keith Herbert, Nov. 11, 1996).

Photo caption: Red Men’s Hall: 116 Gravel Pike, Green Lane

Goschenoppen Museum

The Goschenhoppen Historians were established in 1965 to collect, preserve, and present to the public the folk culture and history of the Goschenhoppen region, one of the oldest Pennsylvania German communities in existence. The Goschenhoppen region can be roughly identified as the valley of the Perkiomen Creek north of Schwenksville. The Goschenhoppen Museum offers a glimpse into the “Pennsylvania Dutch” way of life that helped build this region (The Library of Congress, American Folklife Center).

Photo credit: Goschenhoppen.org