What Future For This Historic Lancaster PA Farm House?
For years I have passed this vacant and boarded up stone farm house on Charlestown Road, Lancaster, PA.
When I first saw it, there was farm land on both sides of the road.
Now there are commercial property and municipal projects nearby.
This is the old barn on the property.
There is a matching stone outbuilding next to the farm house. Perhaps it once was a carriage house.
The style of the farm house indicates that it was probably built circa 1780 or 1790, during or shortly after the American Revolution. One can only imagine how much history this home has seen! Unfortunately, it has been sadly neglected. I wonder how long it can go before it gets vandalized, or worse yet, demolished?
The double size house, portico, gabled dormers and wide chimneys suggest that there may be interesting architectural features inside. It can only be hoped that some owner will take note of the history and beauty of this homestead and try to preserve it before it is too late.
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Brian, There's something very special about that property....I wish I could go inside of it. If it were possible, I would go down there and buy it and then set about renovating it to it's former glory. I can picture it with mullioned, wavy glass sparkling windows shaded by lace curtains, some comfortable old chairs on the verandahs and flowers all around.
Is it limestone? It reminds me so much of many of the fine historic stone homes around here....
beautiful pictures...I wonder what the story is behind it?
Jo
What a find. This is a big opportunity for anyone willing to fix this up. This would be great to watch a restoration on HGTV.
Awesome property, Brian! Have you looked into the owners of the property? I wonder how long they've had this property and if they've thought about the historical value.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Jo,
In my restoration days, I would have loved to restore this house myself. I still have a number of old wavy glass panes from other projects that I collected for just such a project.
Yes, the home is built with native Pennsylvania limestone.
Brian
Chris, you're right - this would make a great story to be shown on TV.
Debbie, I have not researched who the owner(s) might be. Perhaps I should.
Cindy, the structure is definitely not too far gone to restore. It's still in surprisingly good condition. If anything, materials from somewhere else could be used to restore it. The biggest problem for its restored value is that it's too close to the busy road.
No doubt years ago when the house was built, it seemed far enough back from a narrower, less traveled, unpaved road.
Brian,
Carole's comment reminded me of a beautiful old stone mill near the University of Guelph (where I attended for 4 years) that was on a very busy highway.
Some people bought it and turned it into a wonderful dining facility. It does extremely well and has been in business for many years....it was a favourite place of mine to go to when I lived in Guelph.
The old stone farmhouse in your post really reminds me of it and if it is near enough to major towns/cities, would make a fine restaurant where one could reserve the old time character and heritage of the place.
Jo
Carole, the restaurant idea sounds like an excellent one. They would have enough room around the property for parking.
Jo, your suggestion is similar to Carole's. I guess great minds think alike!
Jeff, there's no reason the original farm house couldn't be preserved even in a development - especially if it could be used for some purpose such as a restaurant, retailer or office. It would still be a highly desirable property.
At the very least, I would hope that the owners allow the National Trust for Historic Preservation to photographically document both the interior and exterior while that's still possible!
Good post on Look What I Found..whether it is for sale or not. Get it listed!
Jeannie, I hope you're right that a developer could see the value of saving it. The condition definitely seems to be salvageable. The architectural quality of this house is way above average - it's really more like a manor house than a farm house.
I'd love to get a peek inside, too. There may be some excellent fireplaces and fine moldings still extant.
Martin, I know what you mean. I personally have a hard time understanding why so many people don't appreciate beautiful ancient homes like this.
I believe it's owned by a developer - I'll have to do some research to find someone to talk to.
Brian,
I, too love, and specialize in historic homes, I am licensed in PA, but in the York County area. I think you should check with your local historical society first, they will do the research and could submit it for application to the National Trust of Historic Homes, and they would know if it met the criteria or not. Should it meet the criteria and be restored as a business there are fantastic taz benefits that could be reaped. Would make it very appealing to a developer. I live in Maryland and my home is on the National Register, it had been vacant and vandalized when I purchased it. Great photos and it is a shame someone did not persue this prior to the purchase by a developer. I do think that your local Historical Society should be where to start. It's nice to know that people out there do care about those wonderful homes of the past. Thanks for sharing,
Brian, great photos. It would be a shame to see these buildings razed. They remind me of some of the abandoned farmsteads in outstate Minnesota.
If you manage to sneak in and get some inside photos, we won't tell. I can only imagine some of the wonderful old woodwork inside.
I must correct Jeff, the property is owned by Armstrong Corporation. At one time Armstrong was in negotiations with a developer to build a TND on the property - the developer was going to keep the historic buildings and restore them; however, that deal fell through when Armstrong went into bankruptcy. i don't know what Armstrong Corp has planned. By the way, there are two more historic houses and a lime kiln on the property.
Thanks for your input, Historic Preservation Specialist! The other two houses and the lime kiln must be much farther back from the road.
Do you have any idea who at Armstrong would know what the plans are for the property?
Here is the earlier photo that Jeff sent me of the home. Note the beautiful original 12 over 8 windows!
This may seem like a stupid question, but it is serious: I know many buildings can be either be entirely or partially deconstructed, then moved and reconstructed elsewhere, is it possible to do that with a stone structure such as this? It is my dream to live in a renovated stone farmhouse or even barn, but nothing is available in my area. It's a shame to see such a beautiful structure lost...I hope something can be done with it!
Chrissie, earlier in my career I tried a couple of times to save wonderful historic houses that were in locations that were being developed, and were slated for demolition. It's extremely expensive to take a house apart and number each piece for later reconstruction. It's also prohibively expensive to move a house - in the hundreds of thousands. And that's to say nothing of the expense of purchasing a lot, excavating, getting utilities, and restoring.
It was way above anything that I could afford, and I was the most motivated person trying to save them. In recent years, my goal has been to publicize historic houses that are in danger of being lost, and making a photographic record of them.
Brian, thanks for the answer...and evn though you may not be able to save the physical structures, it is great that you take the time and effort to capture a photographic record of them! I have convinced my husband that our next home is going to be stone with loads of "character" and you can bet I will take inspiration from all the beautiful stone houses of the past. Pictures, such as yours, will be an invaluable resource to us, and in some way, once finished, our project will be a tribute to those historic homes!
Chrissie, what area are you in?
Brian, I am in the northeastern corner of Illinois, and because of my proximity to the southeastern corner or Wisconsin, I would even consider moving there! I have a list of "wants" for my dream home--stone, old house or barn renovation, a couple acres, in-ground pool and water front/water view (I know...) and I have actually found my dream property. Sadly, I forgot to include "affordable" in my list of desires, and it is far above what I can afford at this time. At least I now know these sort of properties DO exist in this area, they're just hard to come by!
Chrissie, if you keep searching, eventually your efforts will be rewarded! Maybe you'll find one that's affordable because it needs work which you can do. The water view is the factor that you may have to compromise on because that would command a prime asking price.
If I can ever be of service in the Lancaster County, PA area to you or someone you know, please let me know!
The board is already off in the 2nd photo on the 1 story part.