Officials deny application to demolish old house

New Hope building dates to about 1740.

By: Linda Seida
   NEW HOPE — A house that has been standing since before the American Revolution escaped the wrecking ball when officials recently denied a developer’s application to knock it down.
   "It’s the oldest house on its original foundation" in the borough, Historic Architecture Review Board member Iain Haight-Ashton said of the 2½-story stone, Georgian house at 8 E. Mechanic St. that was built about 1740.
   Only one house, built about 1733, is older, but it was moved to a new foundation several years ago.
   George Washington and Revolutionary War soldiers were in the vicinity of the Mechanic Street house in 1776, and Washington himself could have stayed there, but so far there’s no documentation to support the fact, Mr. Haight-Ashton said.
   What is known about the residential building, which is now vacant, is that it belonged to Ichabod Wilkinson, a Quaker from Rhode Island. He helped bring New Hope into the Industrial Age when he constructed an iron foundry in what was until then mainly an agricultural setting.
   "We will never really know the role this house played in the War of Independence," Mr. Haight-Ashton wrote in a history of the house. "Perhaps a hungry and tired soldier or officer needed shelter or maybe it even played a role in the Underground Railroad of the next century. Information was not readily recorded during these years for many reasons, namely because information could get into the hands of the British or perhaps a Loyalist."
   The house stands within the New Hope Village District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. While the house needs some work, it would be a great loss to the town to lose a part of its history, Mr. Haight-Ashton said. He collected the signatures of 140 people who agree with him. He presented a petition with 110 signatures to the Borough Council on Sept. 13, and the signatures continued to accumulate.
   HARB recommended the Borough Council deny developer George Michael’s application to tear down the house. Four members of the council unanimously supported the recommendation. Vice President Sharyn Keiser and councilmen Randy Flager and Ed Duffy, the liaison to HARB, were absent.
   Mr. Michael did not attend the council meeting. He had submitted his application to HARB to demolish the structure in the spring after the house had been flooded. He had not submitted plans to the borough for any type of construction on the site.
   Mr. Michael was unavailable for comment Tuesday before The Beacon’s deadline.
   A study performed by a structural engineer determined the house is sound and "very salvageable," Mr. Haight-Ashton said.
   However, improvements are needed, including fortification of exterior masonry walls. Also, the roof and chimney need repair and the stones need repointing.