"Delta Place" - The Slifer Mansion80 Magnolia Dr, Lewisburg, PA 17837
The above photos, from 1867 shows the Slifer Home decorated for the homecoming of Slifer upon his retirement as Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Delta Place Station, and the 1819 Hursh House [built 40 years before the Slifer mansion, and still standing today] With the Delta Place Train Station [originally the IOOF station in Sunbury] for sale, it raised the question - why is it called Delta Place station? Wasn't Delta Place the Slifer House?
Yes - and No. Delta was the name of the 1,150 acre original land purchase that became Lewisburg.
In the book Delta Place by Doris Hartley Reed [Published in 1975 in an effort to save the Slifer House] Reed described the original Delta Place Tract of land.
Granted by the Penns to Rev. John Ewing of Philadelphia, the certificate of title is written on sheepskin, and was given to the Evangelical Home by W.C. Walls of Lewisburg sometime before 1926.
The land contained 1,150 acres, located in [at the time] Berks County, at the angle were Buffalo Creek flows into the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. It was called "Delta" apparently from it's location, and it's resemblance to the Greek letter.
In 1771 Ewing sold the tract to Walter Clark of Paxton, who purchased it for himself, Robert Fruit, William Gray, and Robert and William Clark. They divided the 1,150 acres into 6 tracts, settling on 5 and selling the 6th to Ludwig Derr.
The Fruit tract was purchased by Henry Hursh about 1813, and Hursh built the stone house and barn that still stand there today. The house was built in 1816, and the barn about 5 years later. Find more about this property, and Delta Place Station, here:
The original house on the Slifer house was built in 1804. That house was torn down, and Eli C. Slifer hired architect Samuel Sloan to design a house overlooking the Susquehanna River.
Who was Eli Slifer? The Philadelphia Times, reporting his death, called him "one of the few unobtrusively great men of Pennsylvania."
Read about him here:
Sloan published his design for this house in Homestead Architecture, as Design 33.
The plans were also published in Godey's
The Slifer Home, 1867 Decorated for the homecoming of Slifer upon his retirement as Secretary of the Commonwealth.
"Walls recalled the comfort of Delta Place with its richly laden dining table, its preening peacocks on the lawn, the flocks of guinea hens in the fields, and the stable of fine Kentucky thoroughbred horses." - Union County Pennsylvania, By C.M. Snyder
In 1908, the Slifer house was sold to Dr Lamont Ross, who established his medical practice in the home.
In May of 1916, the first two senior residents, "Guests", moved into the mansion.
On August 4 1916, the mansion formerly opened as the United Evangelical Home.
1917 - The United Evangelical Home held an annual Anniversary Days to commemorate its opening the year before.
In 1919, and again in 1926, dormitories were built behind the mansion, the later housing the first community hospital.
From December 11 1926 through March 31 1953, the first community hospital in Lewisburg was located in a dormitory behind the Slifer House.
From 1919, into the 1960s, the home served as the administrative building for the Evangelical Home.
"In 1926, the Evangelical Association founded the first hospital in Lewisburg on the grounds of the Slifer estate. In time, residential and nursing care apartments were constructed, as well as a skilled care facility – a complex now known as the Riverwoods Senior Living Community."
From December 11 1926 through March 31 1953, the first community hospital was located in a dormitory behind the Slifer House.
The Slifer House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 26 1975. This does NOT however, protect the building in any way.
From Justin's article in the Daily Item -
A historical marker was placed by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1968 along Route 15 near Hospital Drive and McDonald’s. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.The designation does not prevent demolition, according to Jennifer Thornton, the National Register coordinator at the PA State Historic Preservation Office and Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
The National Register of Historic Places is a federal program that recognizes significant historic places in the nation. As of April 2021, there are more than 3,300 properties in Pennsylvania listed in the National Register. The more than 80,000 properties (including districts) listed in the National Register represent 1.4 million individual historic resources.
“At its heart, the National Register is an honorary list,” Thorton said. “There are no additional regulations or restrictions placed on properties that are listed in the National Register.”
National Register listing does not place obligations on private property owners, nor does it place restrictions on the use, treatment or disposition of private property. National Register listing does not lead to public acquisition of property, nor does it require public access to property.
The National Register does not restrict the rights of property owners or require that properties be maintained, repaired or restored; or prevent a property’s destruction by federal, state, local or private development; or require property owners to follow preservation standards unless they wish to qualify for tax benefits.
A historical marker was placed by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1968 along Route 15 near Hospital Drive and McDonald’s. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.The designation does not prevent demolition, according to Jennifer Thornton, the National Register coordinator at the PA State Historic Preservation Office and Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
The National Register of Historic Places is a federal program that recognizes significant historic places in the nation. As of April 2021, there are more than 3,300 properties in Pennsylvania listed in the National Register. The more than 80,000 properties (including districts) listed in the National Register represent 1.4 million individual historic resources.
“At its heart, the National Register is an honorary list,” Thorton said. “There are no additional regulations or restrictions placed on properties that are listed in the National Register.”
National Register listing does not place obligations on private property owners, nor does it place restrictions on the use, treatment or disposition of private property. National Register listing does not lead to public acquisition of property, nor does it require public access to property.
The National Register does not restrict the rights of property owners or require that properties be maintained, repaired or restored; or prevent a property’s destruction by federal, state, local or private development; or require property owners to follow preservation standards unless they wish to qualify for tax benefits.
The following year, the house was opened to the public as a museum. The Museum is now listed as "Permanently Closed", although I'm unable to verify the "permanently" part.
Parlor in the Slifer House Mansion
In 2008 there was a re-enactment of Eli Slifers Funeral, from the Slifer House to Lewisburg Cemetery.
See more here:
A post from April, showing some of the exterior of the building on the day I noticed the sale sign out front - https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1ByDRyFDUD/
Pages Of Paul - Ghost
A music video shot in the Slifer House, when all the furniture and decor was still inside:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18wqNAeVh2/
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18wqNAeVh2/
I made an effort to photograph the memorials outside of the Slifer House earlier this year - see that album here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14EUUX2jj2y/
As of July 2025, Demolition considered for historic Slifer House
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See more about a 1978 Historical Tour that included the Slifer House, here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16uksSdQYE/
A few pages from Delta Place, by Donna Hartley Reed, with the early history of the Slifer House.
The book can be found at the Union County Public Library.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1B4NhXbd1A/
The book can be found at the Union County Public Library.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1B4NhXbd1A/
Two pages from the memoir of Martha H. Mulinix, covering a trip through our area in 1987. These two pages mention a tour of the Ashland Coal Mine, Centralia, Mifflinburg Buggy Capital, Packwood House, The Overlook at Shikellamy State Park, Fort Augusta Museum [not ready for visitors] and Slifer House, and workshops at Bucknell.
From The Application for the National Registry:
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The orphanage
It has also always fascinated me that Eli Slifer Jr was on the disastrous Collins Expedition [an attempt to build a railroad Brazil] and when he returned he spoke to several groups about his trip - for the benefit of those who had loved ones who did not return from that trip. You can read what he had to say here
We were married on the porch of the Slifer House. A pity to see that it may be torn down. It is a beautiful building.
ReplyDeleteI'm disappointed that I've lived here as long as I have and only heard about this house now, when it's being auctioned
ReplyDelete