27 Howard Avenue Lancaster, PA
In the early 1900s this was the home of Widow Mary C. (Kleiss) Gast. She was a seamstress / dressmaker who specialized in “altering and remodeling ladies suits” according to her newspaper ad.
Mrs. Gast had been married to Albert C. Gast. She lived here with her only child, her special-needs adult son Edwin. She was active with the First Reformed Church.
Mrs. Gast later retired into Lancaster’s home for low-income women, the Long Home, where she died in 1919 at age 77. That personal-care home continues today. The home was created in 1905, funded by a bequest from Judge Henry G. Long. Long’s Park was another gift to Lancaster City from this judge.
The Hamilton Club is the former home of Judge Long’s unmarried daughter Catharine H. Long.