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After more than 200 years of being passed down through one family, the historic Spring Farm located at 2394 Route 220 in Pennsdale will be auctioned off courtesy of Michael T. Roan Real Estate beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Sitting on more than 33 acres, the three-story home features softwood floors, a wood pellet stove with brick chimney, wainscoting and exposed beamed ceiling, two stone fireplaces, maple cabinets and Formica countertops, among many other architectural draws.
Adorning the property is an approximately 7,000-square-foot Pennsylvania bank barn, a pole barn, woodshed, outhouse, pumphouse, springhouse, playhouse and corn crib/wagon shed.
The land has been the site of much history since 21-year-old William Ellis constructed a log cabin under a "new purchase" agreement, known as The Treaty of Fort Stanwix, which saw the Iroquois Confederacy cede a large amount of territory in Pennsylvania to the Penn family.
Ellis would lose his cabin just seven years later during The Great Runaway when British loyalists and the Indians that were aligned with them destroyed most property from Sunbury to Jersey Shore.
After being evacuated to Fort Augusta, Ellis would return five years later, however, and build a second structure log home using some saved logs from the fire, a structure that remains part of the current Spring Farm house, according to a history write-up provided by Roan.
A large bank barn, still intact, was also constructed by Ellis, featuring hand hewed beams. A large dairy barn addition was completed in the 1920's.
Upon Ellis' death, the property was left to his daughter, Rachael and husband Jacob Haines, then residents of Philadelphia who taught at The Westtown Quaker School.
Ten years after returning to the area in 1822, the Haines would trade Spring Farm for Wolf Run and Edge End with Henry Ecroyd., the history said, noting that the couple were very involved with the Underground Railway.
"The Quakers were very rich people, and they were very caring people, and they're the ones that created the Underground Railroad," Roan said.
"Rabbit Town Road crosses 220, and that was the only road here then, and it was a road from Philadelphia to Canada," he explained.
"Every night they'd run stagecoaches full of slaves, up to the next point, which might have been Trout Run, and then there was another one that took them somewhere further north," Roan said.
Ellis' son, William Cox Ellis, an attorney, who had served as Congressman from 1820 to 1824, had previously defended slave hunters in court following protests in the Muncy area in the 1830's.
"As a lawyer, he said, 'well, everybody deserves a defense,' even being a Quaker abolitionist, he represented them. It was very difficult for him, but he did what was right," said Gary Jones, whose partner and best friend, Linda Keyser Jones, holds the trust to the property.
Though no written records have ever been found, Jones said he believes hundreds to thousands of slaves passed through the area on their journey to freedom.
"There's many places to hide, and it's a direct route to Rabbit Town Road," he said, adding that the view from their driveway, over the mountain, puts the Big Dipper directly in the line of sight.
Linda and Gary met during an accounting class in college and would go on to have a daughter together.
Following the death of Linda's cousin, the estate was initially put up for auction.
"We were able to match that price from the auction, which was not cheap, but we went in it as a family, and we've done a lot over the years," Jones said.
"The first thing we did was totally remodel the house, and we raised organic vegetables for a while, and Linda sold them off the porch while I continued to work," he said.
"What we did with two acre building lots was kind of set minimums as to what we wanted in houses, and it came out beautiful,"Jones said, adding that he believes there may be room to construct one more house on the property.
The pair also grew pussy willows, which they sold throughout the country.
"Health issues just kind of put the brakes on everything. I couldn't do the farm work that I used to do. It was always my dream to do farm work, and I did. We worked hard for so many years, but the best we can do now is the flower gardens," Jones said.
Jones sees the history of the property and the surrounding homes as a key selling point.
"They were Quakers and they were all related. It was a quaint community, and they all settled in from the Philadelphia area, after having come from England," he explained.
"There's also many Quaker houses in the area that are sister houses to this," Jones added.
"People that have come to look at it have really talked a lot about the history, and everybody we've met so far that's come to look at it wants to maintain it the way it is," he said.
Following the Civil War, Richard Ecroyd and wife, Eleanor, would raise a family on the property, where Richard would plant seven large black walnut trees around the property, one for each of their daughters, Jones said.
Richard and Eleanor's daughter, Elizabeth who married Samuel Nicholson, Vice President of Westinghouse, in 1892, and thirty years later, purchased Spring Farm from her remaining siblings, immediately turning its operation over to their son James S. Nicholson and his wife, Marjorie (Monty).
"Most people that have grown up in the area know of the Nicholsons," Jones said.
"James was a charter member of the Muncy Township Volunteer Fire Company, and was a graduate of Cornell," he said.
"He bought registered Holsteins, bred them and became very up to date on modern farming for the 1920s through the 1960s," Jones said.
James, who had served as a Township Supervisor for 12 years, would pass away from a stroke at 63, shortly after becoming a County Commissioner.
Marjorie would continue to operate the farm, alongside sons James and Peter.
"Marjorie was a famous quilter, but also started working with the ladies auxiliary for the fire company," he said.
Marjorie was also well-known for initiating the annual Carol Sing at the Muncy Meeting House.
"Quakers are not big on singing in church, so she started it out on the porch, and it eventually evolved," Jones said.
Additionally, she served as the inspiration and model for David Armstrong's painting "The Quilter". Another famous Armstrong, who hales from Unityville, painting is of the property- "The Springhouse"
A third painting inspired by the home entitled "Spring Wind" would grace the cover of Yankee Magazine in March 1983.
James Jr. would pass away in 1992, at which point Marjorie and James' niece, Ruth Whitacre Keyser, husband, William Keyser and Linda bought out the remaining heirs, living on the property ever since.
The farm was placed in trust and is ultimately willed to Nickolette Keyser Jones, the 10th generation at Spring Farm and currently the last heir.
"She was saying on the phone the other night, 'I'm so sorry, I'm not a farmer,' and that's okay," Jones said.
Nickolette holds a bachelor's degree in theater, a master's in theater with a focus on playwriting, and is currently working towards an MFA in writing.
"She just wrote a novel, so she's a writer. She wants to be a novelist," Jones said.
"She's done a lot of news articles for the Sun-Gazette, the Luminary and she writes for her college newspaper," he added.
Nickolette has also had a few plays put into production in Philadelphia.
"She would have loved to have kept in the family, but it's just time to pass it on to the next family, hope they respect it as much as we have, and really put the love and care into it, and do the small amount of repairs that need to be done, and keep it going for another 250 years," Jones said.
"You can't build this house. It doesn't exist," he said.
"We've met a lot of people over the years, especially when we were running the vegetable stand. Everybody came with stories," Jones said.
"The first year we were here, we had well over 100 guests. We had 30 people staying at one time because friends wanted to come see it, and interestingly, most people say when they come here, 'that's the first time I slept through the night in years.' It's just one of those places. It's peaceful," he said.
Saturday's auction will take place at the property, and anyone interested in taking part can learn more by visiting www.roanrealestate.com/quaker-farm.