deepskyal
Bronze Member
- Aug 17, 2007
- 1,925
- 63
- Detector(s) used
- White's Coinmaster 6000 Di Series 3, Minelab Eq 600
- Primary Interest:
- Metal Detecting
Anyone in this area ever get to check out this place? Sounds like it could be a good hot spot.
Al
Time is running out for historic house in Central Pa.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
By Len Barcousky, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Options are shrinking and time is running out for a small citizens group seeking to keep the historic Justice William Smith House intact and in Mercersburg.
Bids to demolish -- or possibly relocate -- the building will be opened Oct. 28.
Among the bidders is likely to be an outdoor museum in Northern Ireland that would like to disassemble the structure and ship it to Europe. Under that scenario, the stone house would be rebuilt on the grounds of the Ulster American Folk Park in County Tyrone.
"I think we are getting close to the end of the line," said Karen Ramsburg, president of the Committee to Save the Justice William Smith House.
Folk park curator Phil Mowat has said that relocation of the Smith House to Northern Ireland would be a last resort if the building cannot remain in its original spot.
The regional fire department that owns the land on which the 18th century house stands bought the property last year with an eye to expanding its own aging facilities.
The Smith House and the MMP&W Volunteer Fire Co. station stand next to each other on North Main Street. The initials in its name stand for the central Pennsylvania communities it serves: Mercersburg, Montgomery, Peters and Warren. All are in Franklin County, which is about 150 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
Fire board president Ron Funk and fire Chief Dusty Stoner have said previously that the fire department had reached no final decision on the future of the building, but they have since remained mum.
The fire department has not sought a demolition permit, according to a spokeswoman for Mercersburg Borough.
If the only alternative becomes demolition, relocation of the Smith house to the folk park "is still the desired outcome for a variety of reasons," Richard K. MacMaster said Monday.
A retired professor of history and co-editor of the Journal of Scotch-Irish Studies, he has served as the museum's representative in talks with the fire company about the future of the building.
The folk park already has several other buildings with links to Scotch-Irish immigrants who settled in southwestern Pennsylvania.
They include the original cottage where Mellon family patriarch Thomas Mellon was born and replicas of the first two homes he and his family occupied in Westmoreland County.
Museum officials still were looking at all the costs and challenges connected to relocating a substantial structure like the Smith House, Dr. MacMaster said. "It is impossible to say whether they will make a bid," he said.
Ms. Ramsburg said her group is looking for potential sponsors who could cover some of the costs for moving the house to an alternate site in the borough, but she understood that was a long shot.
"I'm grateful to Dr. MacMaster and Dr. Mowat," she said. "I'd rather hope it goes to Ireland than see it knocked down."
Some historians have compared the Smith house to Independence Hall, she said.
Smith was an 18th-century businessman, farmer and local judge. In 1765 his home was the meeting place for mainly Scotch-Irish settlers who organized themselves into armed bands for self-defense.
They took that action after neither the Pennsylvania colonial government in Philadelphia nor the British government in London was able to protect them from raids by Native American warriors.
An offshoot from that local militia unit, known as the "Black Boys," was led by William Smith's brother-in-law, James Smith.
Eight years before the Boston Tea Party, they dressed as Indians to disguise themselves and destroyed weapons and other supplies they thought might end up in the hands of their Native American enemies.
Jerry Ross, a save-the-house committee member, called the building one of "America's Revolutionary crown jewels."
He said moving it would be a "heinous historical crime" at a time when Mercersburg and Franklin County are seeking to encourage historical tourism.
Mercersburg already has a historic district covering about 18 blocks around the intersection of Main and Seminary streets.
The community was the boyhood home of President James Buchanan, whose statue stands on Main Street, and the site of an 1862 Civil War raid by Confederate cavalry led by Gen. J.E.B. Stuart.
The Smith House is outside of the historic district.
"We feel so helpless," said Councilwoman Betty Stegner, who also is a member of the save-the-house committee.
"We have tried to work with the fire company. We'd be glad to help them find a new location, but they don't want that."
The Smith House has been extensively modified since it was built in the 1750s. Over the centuries it appears to have served as a tavern, a private residence and a social club.
Architectural historians who have examined the structure say it most likely originally was a one-story Ulster-style stone house with a sloping roof and a half-story upper floor used for sleeping and storage. Modern additions include porches, a summer kitchen and a 20th-century full second story.
Those extensive exterior changes explain why the house has not been placed on state or federal registers of historic places.
That decision, which is based on architectural considerations, does not reduce the importance of the history connected to the house, said Howard Pollman, a spokesman for the state Historical and Museum Commission.
Len Barcousky: [email protected] or 412-263-1159.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10285/1094497-454.stm#ixzz12BlfjRvi
Al
Time is running out for historic house in Central Pa.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
By Len Barcousky, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Options are shrinking and time is running out for a small citizens group seeking to keep the historic Justice William Smith House intact and in Mercersburg.
Bids to demolish -- or possibly relocate -- the building will be opened Oct. 28.
Among the bidders is likely to be an outdoor museum in Northern Ireland that would like to disassemble the structure and ship it to Europe. Under that scenario, the stone house would be rebuilt on the grounds of the Ulster American Folk Park in County Tyrone.
"I think we are getting close to the end of the line," said Karen Ramsburg, president of the Committee to Save the Justice William Smith House.
Folk park curator Phil Mowat has said that relocation of the Smith House to Northern Ireland would be a last resort if the building cannot remain in its original spot.
The regional fire department that owns the land on which the 18th century house stands bought the property last year with an eye to expanding its own aging facilities.
The Smith House and the MMP&W Volunteer Fire Co. station stand next to each other on North Main Street. The initials in its name stand for the central Pennsylvania communities it serves: Mercersburg, Montgomery, Peters and Warren. All are in Franklin County, which is about 150 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
Fire board president Ron Funk and fire Chief Dusty Stoner have said previously that the fire department had reached no final decision on the future of the building, but they have since remained mum.
The fire department has not sought a demolition permit, according to a spokeswoman for Mercersburg Borough.
If the only alternative becomes demolition, relocation of the Smith house to the folk park "is still the desired outcome for a variety of reasons," Richard K. MacMaster said Monday.
A retired professor of history and co-editor of the Journal of Scotch-Irish Studies, he has served as the museum's representative in talks with the fire company about the future of the building.
The folk park already has several other buildings with links to Scotch-Irish immigrants who settled in southwestern Pennsylvania.
They include the original cottage where Mellon family patriarch Thomas Mellon was born and replicas of the first two homes he and his family occupied in Westmoreland County.
Museum officials still were looking at all the costs and challenges connected to relocating a substantial structure like the Smith House, Dr. MacMaster said. "It is impossible to say whether they will make a bid," he said.
Ms. Ramsburg said her group is looking for potential sponsors who could cover some of the costs for moving the house to an alternate site in the borough, but she understood that was a long shot.
"I'm grateful to Dr. MacMaster and Dr. Mowat," she said. "I'd rather hope it goes to Ireland than see it knocked down."
Some historians have compared the Smith house to Independence Hall, she said.
Smith was an 18th-century businessman, farmer and local judge. In 1765 his home was the meeting place for mainly Scotch-Irish settlers who organized themselves into armed bands for self-defense.
They took that action after neither the Pennsylvania colonial government in Philadelphia nor the British government in London was able to protect them from raids by Native American warriors.
An offshoot from that local militia unit, known as the "Black Boys," was led by William Smith's brother-in-law, James Smith.
Eight years before the Boston Tea Party, they dressed as Indians to disguise themselves and destroyed weapons and other supplies they thought might end up in the hands of their Native American enemies.
Jerry Ross, a save-the-house committee member, called the building one of "America's Revolutionary crown jewels."
He said moving it would be a "heinous historical crime" at a time when Mercersburg and Franklin County are seeking to encourage historical tourism.
Mercersburg already has a historic district covering about 18 blocks around the intersection of Main and Seminary streets.
The community was the boyhood home of President James Buchanan, whose statue stands on Main Street, and the site of an 1862 Civil War raid by Confederate cavalry led by Gen. J.E.B. Stuart.
The Smith House is outside of the historic district.
"We feel so helpless," said Councilwoman Betty Stegner, who also is a member of the save-the-house committee.
"We have tried to work with the fire company. We'd be glad to help them find a new location, but they don't want that."
The Smith House has been extensively modified since it was built in the 1750s. Over the centuries it appears to have served as a tavern, a private residence and a social club.
Architectural historians who have examined the structure say it most likely originally was a one-story Ulster-style stone house with a sloping roof and a half-story upper floor used for sleeping and storage. Modern additions include porches, a summer kitchen and a 20th-century full second story.
Those extensive exterior changes explain why the house has not been placed on state or federal registers of historic places.
That decision, which is based on architectural considerations, does not reduce the importance of the history connected to the house, said Howard Pollman, a spokesman for the state Historical and Museum Commission.
Len Barcousky: [email protected] or 412-263-1159.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10285/1094497-454.stm#ixzz12BlfjRvi
