Harford owners fear for 263-year-old house

The Griffith House has withstood lightning, fire and the ravages of at least 263 years, but its owners say it might not outlast the onslaught of 18-wheelers rumbling past its driveway on Old Philadelphia Road in Harford County. A $1.2 million plan to replace an old bridge with a wider one - part of the nationwide military base realignment known as BRAC - will, the owners say, bring more truck traffic past the 18th-century home.

Replacing an old bridge on Route 159 with a wider one will damage the old farmhouse, the homeowners said - and they're going to court today to try to halt the project. About 5,600 vehicles, many of them trucks, are using the road each day, according to state highway officials. They're apparently heading to the dozens of warehouses in the area or to nearby Aberdeen Proving Ground, which is to expand by 10,000 jobs in coming years. 'The increased weight limit, more traffic, the higher speeds, the constant noise could all be too much for this house,' said Jay Wright, the third generation of his family to own the home.