New Hope seeks grant for historic building

A resident wants the borough to buy the house and make it into a living history museum.

By: Linda Seida
   NEW HOPE — A Revolutionary War-era house that was saved from destruction last month could be transformed into a living history museum if a local history expert’s vision comes to fruition.
   Iain Haight-Ashton, a living history re-enactor who sits on the borough’s Historic Architecture Review Board, wants to see the house on East Mechanic Street turned into a place where New Hope’s Colonial history comes alive.
   He has proposed a history-themed destination, one where, perhaps, schoolchildren can go to learn about the town’s industrial beginnings and its connection to the Revolutionary War. It would be a living history museum where, perhaps, musicians playing 18th-century music can entertain visitors with free concerts on a weekend afternoon.
   The two and a half story stone house, built around 1740, was owned by Ichabod Wilkinson, a Quaker who ran an iron foundry. Last month, the Borough Council denied a developer’s request to raze the structure.
   The house is owned by the Grosvenor Glenn Trust, according to attorney Wayne Cordes of the firm Cordes & King in New Hope.
   "If the borough would like to be involved, that would be wonderful," Mr. Cordes said Tuesday.
   The house cannot be donated because of the terms of the trust, according to Mr. Cordes.
   Mr. Glenn died about 15 years ago, and the family would like to put the house back on the market.
   No renovations have been performed, and it will be sold sold "as is," Mr. Cordes said.
   At one point, developer George Michael had an agreement to purchase the property, but he was unable to win approval from borough officials to tear it down. He had not submitted any proposals to indicate what he would construct in its place.
   The house was flooded three times in recent years. Flood damage was minimal; the stone walls are 2 feet thick, Mr. Cordes said. The family is waiting for the pending insurance claim.
   The cost to buy it is in the neighborhood of about $800,000. Officials have agreed to allow the borough’s grant writer investigate possible grant opportunities that would enable the purchase without burdening taxpayers.
   Mr. Haight-Ashton has proposed borough ownership as well as the creation of a stewardship to oversee restoration and the day-to-day operations. Restoration is expected to cost $1 million or more.
   He told the council, "This is an important opportunity for our town as a community to own, save and preserve what might be one of New Hope’s earliest structures and a piece of our long history. We cannot go back in time, but, maybe, time can come back to us."
   As Mr. Haight-Ashton sees it, there isn’t a lot of emphasis on New Hope’s Colonial history. There’s a sign on the landing that points out George Washington crossed the Delaware River there, but there should be more than a sign, he said.
   The sign "plants the seed, but it doesn’t let it grow," Mr. Haight-Ashton said.
   He is calling for volunteers to help raise funds, which would lessen the amount of money needed to be won through grants, he said.
   Contact him at P.O. Box 325, New Hope, 18938.