Three Tamaqua Area High School National Honor Society members recently helped the Tamaqua Area Historical Society clean up the overgrown rear yard of Tamaqua’s oldest home.

Jonathan Ulicny organized the work at the 1801 Burkhardt Moser log home with classmates Ashlyn Houser and Marissa Miller.

“The Tamaqua Historical Society is grateful for the help and hard work by these three dedicated Tamaqua High School National Honor Society students,” said Dale Freudenberger, president of the historical society.

Freudenberger said the trio worked for hours in the rain to clear overgrown brush, tall invasive plants, overhanging branches and rotting tree stumps. All the debris was loaded into a dump truck provided by Tamaqua borough.

The Moser log home has been closed to the public for around 6 years because of safety concerns about a rotting front deck but Freudenberger said the home itself is structurally sound.

In October 2021, the historical society demolished a blighted house at 307 E. Broad St. that sat directly in front of the log home and obstructed much of the view. With the house gone and the unsafe deck removed, the empty lot was cleaned up and grass was planted.

“The cleanup by the NHS students of the rear yard of the log house is another step toward getting the property accessible to the public once again,” Freudenberger said.

The historical society is working with local architect Mark Conville on a plan to regrade the lot where the single house stood and create a new walkway to the front door of the log house. Additional repairs are being planned for the log house including rechinking all of the mortar between the 221 year-old logs, restoration of two windows and frames damaged by vandals, replacement of some sidewalks and door repairs.

Restoration work on the Moser log home has been done over the years, he said.

The historical society purchased the front house and the log house in the mid-1990s for $33,500. It spent an additional $15,000 restoring much of the log house. It was open for tours during community events and holiday house tours for more than 15 years before being closed for safety reasons.

“When the current work that is being planned gets completed, we will reopen the 1801 Moser log home to the public for tours once again,” Freudenberger said. “We need the architect to complete his work and then we will get estimates on getting the work done and figure out how we can fund the project as soon as possible.”

Donations can be sent payable to the Tamaqua Historical Society, 118 W. Broad St., Tamaqua, PA 18252. Contact dalefreud@gmail.com or call 610-597-6722 for more information.