Jacob Kuechler's Roost

Jacob Ludwig Louis Kuechler was born in Germany. He studied woodworking and patternmaking before coming to the United States.

In the 1870s he operated a saloon at 523 Penn Street, Reading, PA. He then moved on top of a mountain in the late 1800s and was known as the “Hermit of the Mountain”.

Jacob served food and drinks at his cabin called “Kuechler’s Roost” which was a stop on the Mount Penn Gravity Railroad.

Jacob died at the age of 74 on January 4, 1904. At the time of his death he had not been off the mountain in decades.

In 1907 the Tafelrunde auf Kuechler’s Roost, a club of German businessmen, met every Saturday afternoon for literary sessions followed by supper and singing at the cabin.

We took a short hike to Jacob Kuechler’s wine cellar. Jacob’s cabin is long gone and only the remnants of the foundation remain.