The land where the Hosensack Meetinghouse and cemetery stand was originally owned by Hans Heinrich Yeakel. Hans Heinrich purchased 500 acres of land in the Hosensack Valley on December 23, 1761. The story goes that he attended the sale of this large tract of land, traveling on horseback from Macungie, where his family lived at the time. When questioned about his ability to pay, he went to his saddlebags and pulled out sufficient cash to pay the entire sum.

Several years later, the land was divided equally among his four sons, into farms that each had a stream running through it. Hans Heinrich died in 1781.

In the summer of 1790, a combined school and meetinghouse was erected on one acre and twenty-five perches of ground obtained by the trustees of the Society of Schwenkfelders from two of Hans Heinrich’s sons, George and Jeremiah Yeakel. This log structure was the first place for public worship built by the Schwenkfelders in America. At one end of the building a schoolroom was partitioned off, equipped with benches and tables, where the “Hosensack Academy” was conducted. Prior to this time, both school and worship had been conducted in private homes. The school was open to all students, not just Schwenkfelders.

The log structure was replaced with a more modern plain stone building in 1838. The stone meetinghouse was remodeled in 1893 and was used until the Palm Schwenkfelder Church was dedicated in 1911.

An interesting feature is that on one side of the room there are hat racks under the pews. The men sat on that side, and the women on the other. Next to the short pews stood pot-bellied stoves, which probably burned wood or coal for heat. As at the other two meetinghouses, if money was needed to pay bills, deacons stood at the back door with hats in hand to take the collection as the congregation left the building after worship.

The first recorded burial in the Hosensack Cemetery was that of Peter Gerhard, husband of Schwenkfelder Susanna Seibt, in 1791. The three Schwenkfelder immigrants buried here are from the Yeakel family, the earliest in 1793.

Hans Heinrich, along with a few other family members, is buried at the Yeakel Private Cemetery, also known as the Hans Heinrich Yeakel Cemetery. The small square plot is not far from the meetinghouse, just off the intersection of Station and Treichler Roads on the dividing line between two adjoining farms. It was the highest point on the property owned by Hans Heinrich Yeakel.

As part of the Bi-Centennial celebration of 1934, monuments were erected at each burial ground known to hold the remains of Schwenkfelder immigrants. In front of each grave site was placed a small stone marker, engraved with his or her immigrant number, as assigned by the authors of The Genealogical Record of the Schwenkfelder Families, published in 1923. The monument on the grounds of the meetinghouse lists the names of immigrants buried at the Hosensack and Yeakel Cemeteries. A series of memorial services was held, including unveiling the monuments, reading of brief biographical sketches, and decorating of the individual immigrant graves with flowers.

In 1930 the Palm Schwenkfelder Church trustees purchased land along the Hosensack Creek, across the road from the meetinghouse, then owned by Nathan Schultz. Nathan was the grandfather of Bill Schultz and Verna Badman. Later that same year, Nathan died. Irwin Shelly, father of Ida Mae and Howard Shelly, purchased the farm and agreed to the plans for the picnic grove. When Nathan’s estate was settled, the purchase money was returned to the church and became the Hosensack Endowment Fund. In 1932, the Ushers’ League cleared the land along the creek and then maintained the grove to be used for picnics and meetings held there.

The name “Hosensack” literally means “trousers or pants pocket.” Legend tells that it got its name from a man who went into the valley and lost his way. He wandered around among the heavily wooded hills all day and night. When he finally found his way out, he said it was as dark as a pants pocket in there, and there was no way of getting out except for the hole you went in. But being Pennsylvania Dutch, instead of “pants pocket” he used the word “Hosensack.”