Haverford Township to auction historic property

HAVERFORD » A property that was once an early school house, located at 516 S. Eagle Road in Havertown, will be sold at public auction, 7 p.m., June 27.

The auction will take place at the township building, 2325 Darby Road, with proceeds to benefit the Haverford Township Historical Society.

The approximately one-acre lot includes a 1.5-story, 1,460-squarefoot single-family home originally built in 1883 to serve as a one-room schoolhouse, known as Public School No. 2.

The stone building was sold and converted to residential use in 1896, along with a carriage house and barn.

The current assessment value is $161,700, county records show. Former owner, the late Wesley Schwarz, willed the property to the township, for use by the Haverford Township Historical Society. A U.S. Navy veteran who served in World War II, Schwarz died in May 2012, at 91.

According the Haverford Township Historical Resource Survey, all structures are currently “in a very poor state of repair, with the carriage house and barn in ruins.”

After consulting with the Society, Haverford commissioners successfully petitioned the Court of Common Pleas to authorize sale of the property, with proceeds to benefit the Society’s “stewardship and improvement of other historic buildings it operates.”

A new deed was recorded in May, which includes a restriction on subdividing the lot into more than two lots, with no more than one single-family dwelling constructed on each.

There are no restrictions on demolition of existing structures.

Commissioners recently approved an ordinance authorizing sale at public auction.

Traiman Real Estate Auction Company has been marketing the property and will conduct the auction.