Shoofly pie has long been a tradition of the Pennsylvania Dutch and one of PA’s most notable dishes. A molasses-based pie with crumb topping, shoofly pie makes for a thrifty dish, traditionally enjoyed at breakfast time throughout the last hundred years.
Today, Grace Inspired Living is pleased to announce that an official marker commemorating shoofly pie has been erected at the historic Farmhouse property on the Telford campus!
Thanks to a grant from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation’s new Hungry for History® program, the series’ first statewide marker celebrates the origin and history of this traditional Pennsylvania Dutch food favorite.
Lutheran Community at Telford, the Commonwealth’s inaugural grant recipient, will showcase the marker indefinitely outside its historic Farmhouse at 345 E. Church St. in Telford. Additionally, the site will be included on an interactive nationwide map and self-guided tour program offered by the Pomeroy Foundation.
The full inscription on the 10-foot marker alleges that the recipe originated in 1876 as “Centennial Cake,” first introduced at the 100th anniversary celebration for the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. This is fitting context, given the first PA marker is getting its start during America’s Semiquincentennial, or 250th anniversary, this year. In between, the original dish is believed to have later been renamed shoefly pie while it grew to become a staple of Pennsylvania Dutch baking since 1920.
Grace Inspired Living shares a commitment with the Pomeroy Foundation to preserve local history for future generations to understand, and both are 501(c)(3) organizations. Shoofly pie is an iconic food item found throughout Bucks and Montgomery County, which we are proud to say now sits firmly embedded in the fabric of Telford’s culture and history, right on campus property!
Click below to read our official press announcement or to learn more.
