Zug Zuck Zook Ancestral Home is Museum in Exton, PA

Zook House/Exton Meadows Construction: c. 1750

first posted July 11, 2010

The Zook House in Exton was home to eight generations of the Zook family. It became a haven for Amish and Mennonite travelers who were migrating westward to Lancaster County and Ohio. The building was restored and preserved by the Rouse Company during the construction of Exton Square Mall, 1971-72.

Richard Thomas originally owned this property and a John Morgan bought the property in 1718. William Owen acquired the deed and 150Acres from Morgan in 1734, and built an original portion of the house during that same year.

The deed was then transferred from Owens to James Brown in 1760. In 1770 Brown sold the house and property to Morritz Zug (brother of Christian Zug), grandson of an Anabaptist preacher [Hans Zug], who had immigrated from Switzerland to America in 1742. Zug probably changed his name to Zook to avoid religious persecution.

The house is constructed with 2 feet thick hill standstone walls. There are hand hewn 8” square walnut girders in the cellar, along with the remains of a huge walk-in fireplace with a ‘beehive’ built-in oven. The original stone stairway leading to the outside is in the NW corner of the cellar.

The eastern addition was constructed around 1790, enlarging the cooking facilities and adding the second floor rooms and an attic. The cellar kitchen was still being used at this time.

The western addition was added in 1820 to modernize for a new bride, closing off the stairway to the cellar, dismantling the beehive oven and creating single rooms upstairs and downstairs. Zook family initials that are carved around a door in the western wing are still visible.

The restoration process took almost two years to complete and the Zook House opened to the public in 1975. After the restoration Zook housed a Tea Room with servers in colonial dress, a Museum room featuring period antiques, a Community Room for meetings and arts and crafts classes, and the West Whiteland Historical Commission was headquartered there.

If you are interested in viewing the historic properties, (Zook House/Exton Meadows and The Massey House, or Sleepy Hollow Hall), please contact the Exton Square Mall Management Office at 610-363-2865, for more

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Zook House (West Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania)
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Zook House U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Location: 100 Exton Sq., Exton, West Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 40°1′43″N 75°37′34″W / 40.02861°N 75.62611°W / 40.02861; -75.62611Coordinates: 40°1′43″N 75°37′34″W / 40.02861°N 75.62611°W / 40.02861; -75.62611
Area: 0.9 acres (0.36 ha)
Built/Founded: 1750
Architectural style(s): Additive dwelling
Governing body: Private
MPS: West Whiteland Township MRA
Added to NRHP: July 27, 2000
NRHP Reference#: 00000844[1]

The Zook House, also known as the William and Elizabeth Owen House, built in 1750, is a historic single family dwelling located near Exton, Pennsylvania on the property of the Exton Square Mall, on the north side of U.S. Route 30 Business. It was first listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 1, 1976 following renovations. In 1984 a boundary increase was also listed on the National Register. In 1998 the house was moved about 300 feet to the southwest due to an expansion of the shopping mall. On July 27, 2000 the house was re-listed on the National Register,[2] even though it remains listed on the Register at its old address.[1]

House was moved
Former location of the house, about 300 feet northeast of the current site.The land in the area of the house was first sold by William Penn to Welch Quaker Richard Thomas in 1683 as part of the Welsh Tract. Thomas's son, also named Richard, claimed the land in two stages, 1704 and 1717. He sold the land to English Quaker John Morgan in 1718, and Morgan sold the land to English Quaker William Owen in 1734. Owen built the house in 1750 and sold land and the house to Quaker James Brown in 1760. Morritz (or Morris) Zug bought the farm and house in 1770. Morritz Zug later anglicized his name to Zook. He and his family were founding members of the Great Valley Ominist (Amish) Society. The house was added to in 1800, and 1820. During the 1998 move, a new foundation was laid and the 1750 basement was lost.

Six generations of the Zook family lived in the house until 1970. The Jacob Zook House, nearby on the south side of U.S. 30 Business, is listed separately on the National Register of Historic Places.

100 Exton Sq., Exton, West Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania