Built in 1819 on the land he leased from the Moravian Church, John Vogel built this beautiful two-story Federal-style house for his family. Vogel was one of the most successful merchants in Salem. The house illustrates the many comforts that many Moravians enjoyed in the 19th century.

Born in 1783 near Salem in Frieldland, Vogel was trained as a gunsmith by a relative and later taught himself to be a silversmith. He came to Salem in 1809 and resided in the Single Brothers house. He asked permission in 1814 to marry the then Single Sister Christina Spach, but it would take another 4 years before the church gave their permission. Finally, on March 7, 1819 he and Christina married.

The house boasts a wide central hall with four spacious rooms on each floor. The rooms are beautifully furnished, as they would have been at the time. About half of the furniture that you see in the house belongs to the Vogel family. You can also see the craftsmanship of other local artists, such as Ludwig Eberhardt (who made the mantel clocks), Karsten Petersen (cabinet-maker), and Daniel Welfare (an artist who painted their portraits). The house also has wallpaper in the bedroom that showed that the family was a little better off than others in the community, since this was expensive at the time. Karen and I were also impressed with the very beautiful ceramic heaters. They were very rare in the houses, and only about five can be found in Salem.

There are costumed docents to give you a history of the house, but you may tour on your own. Downstairs, Karen and I enjoyed one room, which boasted some beautiful handicrafts. There were displays of ribbon work. It turned out to be modern-day ribbon work and the docents only had to go as far as Michaels to find their crafts. But this is much simpler to what Mrs. Vogel and her daughters would have done while Mr. Vogel was hard at work. Karen and I got a kick out of trying on the bonnets we saw lying around.

The rooms here are beautifully decorated, with the large canopy beds that I just loved. When you first walk in, you will see one room that served as John Vogler's shop. You may take your time touring the rooms. One room offers a wonderful view into the gardens and the Anna Catherine House. When John purchased the land, it had a small house built in 1771 by surveyor Christian Gottlieb Reuter for his wife Anne Catherine. This is where John and Christina lived while their house was being built. The Anne Catherine house is not open to the public. The Vogel house is open from 9am to 5:30pm. You must have an Old Salem pass to tour the house. Photography is permitted with the flash off.