Officials debate what to do with oldest house

A small but history-laden Kennett Township structure may be on a path to some form of preservation.

KENNETT TOWNSHIP » A small but history-laden Kennett Township structure may be on a path to some form of preservation.

On Wednesday night, the Kennett Township supervisors heard a presentation by historic preservation planner Robert Wise on the significance to local history represented by the Isaac Allen House. And they heard about the various options available to them if they want to preserve it.

Wise was introduced by Sara Meadows, chair of the township historical commission, who talked about the house’s history. The house, which sits on the Chatham Financial property on McFarlan Road, is a small two-story stucco building, also known as the Cox tenant house.

Several years ago Chatham investigated what could be done with it, found no suitable use, and applied for a demolition permit. These are routinely reviewed by the historical commission, she said, which soon found that the building could be traced back to at least 1800, and on inspection a nail was found there that suggested it was quite a bit older than that.

Further research showed the earliest known resident was there in 1751, and the property itself was purchased in 1713. What was known meant the original stone house, just 15 feet square, saw British troops marching past and encamped in the area the day before the Battle of the Brandywine in September, 1777.

“We felt it was a really exciting building,” Meadows said.

The commission members recommended against demolition and proposed the building be stabilized and given signage to help people understand its significance in township history, Meadows said, and Chatham Financial was cooperative. Eventually the township agreed to lease the building for a nominal fee and consider further what to do with it.

To help gather the information needed to make those decisions, Wise was asked to do a study of the building, Meadows said, so that he could suggest various proposals and preliminarily suggest what the costs for each might be.

Wise said the house might be one of the oldest in the township. He called it a “simple, vernacular, colonial two-story stone house” that was enlarged somewhat and stuccoed over the centuries. An addition was put on in the 1920s or 1930s, Wise said. The alterations are extensive enough, he said, to make it ineligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

The township and owners could choose among several options, Wise said. Simply to stabilize the house to keep animals and water out and allow it to sit for a relatively long time without sustaining further damage would cost around $10,000, he said.

More expensive options including removing the addition and just keeping the original stone part of the house, which would cost from $16,000 to $30,000, Wise estimated. To entirely restore the stone exterior and renew all the windows, doors, and roofing and add new hardware and shutters would cost about $150,000 to $250,000, he said.

Wise said nothing had to be done immediately, and even simply stabilizing the house would provide years for fundraising if further efforts were desired. Just putting a sign by the house explaining its role in the area’s history would help build awareness of it, he said.

The supervisors discussed the various options, and Chairman Richard Leff said they’d like to consider some sort of stabilization project for the short term. Supervisor Scudder Stevens said he’d like to see the proposed options worked up. Supervisor Whitney Hoffman said it was a question of budget priorities, but if the historical commission could look into grants and work with the owners to help fund the project she would be supportive as well.

The supervisors noted that a preliminary hearing for former Township Manager Lisa Moore, who is charged with allegedly embezzling $3.2 million from the township, will be held April 21.