Victorian Cottages

When Perkasie Park first began in 1882 people used tents; houses were added soon after the park was started. One of the most distinguishing things about Perkasie Park are the Victorian cottages. These houses were built of wood by the families that lived there mostly in the 1800's. They had one room, and park regulations only allowed the houses to be 18 feet by 24 feet. In the beginning the houses had no indoor plumbing or electricity. There used to be two showers facilities, one for men and one for women, and they were on opposite sides of the park. Many cottagers shared outhouses (bathrooms).

Most if not all of the cottages were built by the owners. People from the city could come to the park and rent out a cottage for six months over the summer, and later on they could buy it. In 1882 one of the cottages would have cost approximately $75.00 dollars. The people that bought theses cottages had to pay a fee each month to rent the ground that there house was on.

When the cottages were first built they were one room and one story houses. Over the years, cottagers--the people who live in the park- built on to the original houses, adding porches second stories, and bathrooms. Indoor plumbing and electricity were also added. In total there are about sixty houses located on the retreat today.

The houses are sometimes sold furnished. These houses today are used mostly for social events and just to get away for the warm months or a weekend.

Cottages in Perkasie Park		This is "Millionaire's Row", the cottagers name for the line of big cottages on the Market Street side of Perkasie Park.

A view of some of the cottages from the center of the park.		This is one of the cottages built after the fire of 1900.
View down a row of cottages from near the top of the park.		This view of all the cottages, as seen from Park Avenue in the winter. Foliage blocks this view of the cottages in most seasons of the year.

The charm of these wooden structures is emphasized by dynamic paint schemes today (like those you might find in Cape May, New Jersey or other historic Victorian towns). Yearly maintenance is necessary to preserve these structures.		Evidence of outdoor plumbing added to the cottages, reminds visitors of the seasonal nature of the park. If filled with water, these pipes would freeze in cold weather.