Fate of house from 1700s in Mercersburg in doubt

Thanks for the history lesson, now in with the wrecking balls and bulldozers. If this place was such a Cash Cow don't you think the people that owned the place would have looked into all of that before hand or even the bunch that all of a sudden as so much interest. It needs torn down period end of story, bye, bye. Time to move on.

Mercersburg to Historians: "What's in it for us...?"

Please stop the madness. A parking lot or an historic stone building? I'll take the building. I hope the local residents can stop the demolition and get the house placed on the national registry of historic buildings. Pennsylvania has a wealth of stone farm houses and homes that are all too often unnecessarily bulldozed in the name of progress.

If every building, book, & antique item from our past were destroyed, where would we be today? It's sad when the people (historians)that know the the importance of property like this wait until it is on the verge of being destroyed to speak out. Being a resident of the Mercersburg area all my life, this is the first time I have ever heard anything about the historical value of this house. Isn't it the responsobility of the Historiacal Society & those historians who want the house to be spared the wrecking ball to be out there educating the public of the importance of these little historical gems of our towns. Why wait until it belongs to someone else to start crying wolf at the 11th hour, it's been there all my life and I didn't know any of these historical facts. Of course, we don't teach local history in our schools so, that's why it's so easy for people to look at this magnificant old home and see it as nothing more than wrecking ball material. But, that doesn't suprise me, no wonder there isn't anything to do in Mercersburg, those that have the authority have no education and want to destroy everything. It's time to stop and smell the coffee people we scan't keep destroying our past, otherwise where is our future education going to come from? Don't we learn from the past?

I agree with the big dog- time to move on. If the place is renovated for $300,00, where does the upkeep monies come from? It is not as simple as save it , renew it and walk away. Someone has to take responibility. Look back in the local papers to 2005 after the Carriage house burned. The same people the same story and it still sets undone and a liability to the area due to the contsruction left undone. Sorry I appreciate history also, but some things just get old and this is one that needs to go.

Jeeze - why did you guys wait so long for this?

You've known about this for over 200 years.

A day late and a dollar short, I guess.

Its not just about the past.

It's also about the future. In fact, I'ts ALL about the future.

If the "historians" were smart, they would try to come up with a more comprehensive plan for that entire block. The old Liberty/Rhodes Sunoco is empty. The Exxon is empty and dilapidated. Property values on that block are dropping like flies because of the red-light. The whole neighborhood is rapidly going downhill. It's becoming a "rental" neighborhood.(in case you haven't noticed) It seems like we aren't even taking care of the PRESENT.

So instead of telling us what was so wonderful about the past. How about letting us know how this will influence the FUTURE?

I dont think the powers that be like to "remember" this part of American History. By todays standards, Smith would basically be a terrorist...The American Taliban. I cant see any gov grants coming to glorify rebellion against government authority.

Also, if the historical society knew that this place had that much of a value to the community then why wouldn't they tried to buy it for the $125,000. The place needs far to much work on the inside. The fire company would have like to use it for office space and other things but, the renovations would just be too extreme.

You know, the folks in Mercersburg should be preserving the house (if it's really that important to them) because of its history, not because "it's a cash cow". That statement tells ME what they are interested in - MONEY, not history.

We used to live in Burnt Cabins, and when the guy who used to own the Grist Mill milked the system for all the grants he could get for his property, he led a drive to get the town of Burnt Cabins listed on the National Register, and was successful because the residents couldn't be bothered to get notarized signatures on their paperwork saying they didn't want their properties to be on the National Historical Register. He got a couple more grants after that, and then sold the grist mill. He never put a dollar of his own money into that property - your tax dollars paid for all the improvements to his property. Sounds to me like the town of Mercersburg is following his example.

The Message wrote:

I dont think the powers that be like to "remember" this part of American History. By todays standards, Smith would basically be a terrorist...The American Taliban. I cant see any gov grants coming to glorify rebellion against government authority.

The government at the time was British. The United States didn't exist, remember? The people who helped cause this house to be historically significant were depicted in the movie "Allegheny Uprising" starring John Wayne. The events surrounding the history of the house predated the events of the Revolutionary War by 10 years.

I do have to agree that the local historical people don't seem to want to get involved until it's too late, and it's a shame. I remember the previous owner, Davis Nelling, telling me about the house, how the cellar had slots in the walls for fending off indian attacks, and the artifacts that he had found there.

As a previous poster had mentioned, it's a shame the town can't even take care of the present, much less the past. We really need new blood on the Historic Society, and town council.

"This is a nationally significant property," said local historian James Bickley. "That house could bring in a million dollars (of grants) at the drop of a hat."
Then why is the IRWIN HOUSE still in the condition it is?
Why was the Leach House allowed to crumble and be neglected?
Not to long ago at a council meeting it was mentioned that Grant monies for structures like the Irwin House have dried up and are a thing of the past!
"The house is one of the few structures left from that rebellion," said local historian Calvin Bricker. "This could be a cash cow."
If this house is a "cash cow" How come we are not a booming tourist town like Gettysburg with all the other significant Local History?
The Locals have been worried for years that MMP&W would buy the property and raze it, now that it is a reality it must be saved. If this building is so significant why didn't someone else buy it,restore it,register it, and make all kinds of money. The answer is simple none of the other local historical buildings or places make any money and they did not want to be strapped with a "money hog" as opposed to to the "cash cow" they think it might be now that someone else owns it.
It's unfortunate that it has come to this. Now the FD will have to defend themselves from the public they are serving.

Watch Dog wrote:

"This is a nationally significant property," said local historian James Bickley. "That house could bring in a million dollars (of grants) at the drop of a hat."
Then why is the IRWIN HOUSE still in the condition it is?
Why was the Leach House allowed to crumble and be neglected?
Not to long ago at a council meeting it was mentioned that Grant monies for structures like the Irwin House have dried up and are a thing of the past!
"The house is one of the few structures left from that rebellion," said local historian Calvin Bricker. "This could be a cash cow."
If this house is a "cash cow" How come we are not a booming tourist town like Gettysburg with all the other significant Local History?
The Locals have been worried for years that MMP&W would buy the property and raze it, now that it is a reality it must be saved. If this building is so significant why didn't someone else buy it,restore it,register it, and make all kinds of money. The answer is simple none of the other local historical buildings or places make any money and they did not want to be strapped with a "money hog" as opposed to to the "cash cow" they think it might be now that someone else owns it.
It's unfortunate that it has come to this. Now the FD will have to defend themselves from the public they are serving.

EXACTLY, Watch Dog. This will now create some very bad publicity for the fire department... and it isn't justified! The department isn't going to just make a parking lot. There will eventually be a building with offices, perhaps bunkrooms, who knows! And I have to agree with other posters, and I've said it before: IF the hysterical(yes, I mis-spelled on purpose) society was so interested, why didn't THEY buy the property??

A parking lot.

Unbelievable.

If we took the house & a 100' x 100' plot, that's what 30 spaces? For 30 spaces, they would tear down this house.

I think the historical people were hoping some one would buy the home & restore it.

Dave wrote:

A parking lot.
Unbelievable.
If we took the house & a 100' x 100' plot, that's what 30 spaces? For 30 spaces, they would tear down this house.
I think the historical people were hoping some one would buy the home & restore it.

The problem is Dave that the historical people really never set foot in the house. The place is a mess. They would love to restore it and make it into offices and bunks but, it hasn't had any up keep in a very long time and is way to expensive to try and save it and restore it.

Tear down the house immediately. Why are we going to waste more tax dollars on this house. Look at the other piece of trash on the square that should have just burnt down and the town of Mercersburg would look 100% better. If these people wanted to save the house, they should have bought it. I was going to donate money based on the fundraiser being done, but I am not giving money if it means the house stays.

125,000 for the house. 50,000 for demolition, regrading and paving. (minimum) That's a lot of money, all of which is from donors, just to add a dozen or so parking spaces.

Why didn't the "interested persons" buy the property that was for sale for over a year? I am just hoping that contributions to the fire company did not help purchase this property, as that is not why residents give to this volunteer organization. Maybe they could restore the building and have another "tavern" in town. That seems to be the number one business in this town. As far as the local attorney's comment, it really doesn't matter what the fire company does with the building, or when they do it, it now belongs to them. The last I looked, the name on a Deed is the owner. Therefore; MMP&W, do as you wish.