Shelter House - Emmaus, PA

The Shelter House got its name from the German word “zufluchtshaus,” “house to which to flee.” The house was built around 1734 by early Pennsylvania German settlers and is a medieval-type Germanic log house made out of oak and chestnut.

The Shelter House was as a place to provide food and shelter to pioneers and settlers. The building was constructed along a well-traveled path across South Mountain on the outskirts of what is now Emmaus. Originally it was a place for settlers to go if attacked by Native Americans and then evolved into a place for settlers to go for food, drink and rest. It is a two story colonial log cabin with 8 rooms.

The Shelter House was restored in the 1990s and houses one of the areas largest collections of period-style furniture and household items.

The log cabin is the oldest continuously inhabited log structure in the Lehigh Valley and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Located at: 398 Fairview Street, Emmaus, PA