In South Perkasie, most business activity remained rural and it was supported by the former Bridgetown Hotel, South Perkasie’s two mills, and a general store. Starting in 1909, the hotel’s new owner, Edwin W. Crouthamel, expanded an old local custom by holding livestock auctions next to his hotel. A typical auction at Crouthamel’s Hotel could include cows, horses, chickens, the contents of a farm-house, land, and houses. The auctions were held regularly at the hotel until the mid-1930s. The hotel also served as the place where people voted in South Perkasie until 1937.
Perkasie’s oldest retail store sat at the corner of Main and Walnut Streets, and it also had a connection to the Savacool family. Enos Savacool, the brother of original mill owner William B. Savacool, had moved to Bridgetown and bought a general store first started in 1845 by Levi Sellers. Enos Savacool put a new building on the corner in the 1860s and maintained his store until 1884. In 1900, Harry Harpel sold the store, which was moved up Main Street on rollers to become an apartment building. A new brick building replaced the old wooden-frame structure. It became known as H.D. Moyer’s Store after 1915.
