The Scranton School District reduced by one-third the price of the long vacant, nearly 1-acre lot of the former Samuel Morse School in West Scranton, to $49,995 from $74,150, according to a new real estate listing for the sale of the property.
The lower price comes in response to a Sept. 22 auction of the property on Farr Street at North Sumner Avenue that had a minimum bid of $74,149.60, but received no takers.
After the unsuccessful auction, Pat Rogan, a former West Scranton resident and former Scranton city councilman, and who is a Realtor with The HUB Real Estate Group, offered to try to sell the property for the district free of charge, without a commission.
Earlier this month, the district took Rogan up on his offer and he listed the property Monday for sale for $49,995. That’s a reduction of $24,154.60, or 33%.
“It’s a unique parcel. There aren’t many 1-acre parcels in the city available,” Rogan said Tuesday. “At that price, it is attractive for somebody to go in and put in townhouses or subdivide it and put maybe four or five houses” on the site.
A sizable vacant tract like the Morse lot likely would have a limited pool of potential buyers, as compared to an existing home in that neighborhood that would likely have no shortage — partly because of the relatively high cost of new construction to build on the property, Rogan said.
The listing describes the property as: “An exceptional development opportunity in Scranton’s desirable Tripp Park neighborhood. This nearly 1-acre (.97 acre) lot was formerly home to the Samuel Morse School and offers endless potential for residential or community redevelopment. With its prime location and easy access to major routes and downtown Scranton, this property is ideal for builders, investors, or institutions looking for a large, level parcel in a well-established area. Bring your vision to life — whether it’s new housing or a community facility, this site provides the space and setting to make it happen.”
Named after the inventor of Morse code, the school opened in 1906 and went from five to 16 classrooms in 1935. It closed in 1964 because of building damage from a mine subsidence. The district demolished the building after a fire in 1977.
In recent decades, the district tried to sell the property but received no takers or received offers that were below appraised values. A developer’s proposal in 2010 that called for townhouses on the lot never panned out.
At 310 feet long and 136 feet wide, the lot sits high above Farr Street. The property has a large, long retaining wall along Farr Street that reaches about 20 feet or more at its tallest point above the sidewalk. North Sumner Avenue slopes up from Farr Street to the Manila Place alley paralleling Farr Street. The property is at grade level along the Manila Place alley.
The unsuccessful auction’s minimum bid of $74,149.60 comprised the fair market value determined by an independent appraisal, plus the real estate transfer tax and recording fees.
As for reducing the auction price by nearly $25,000, Rogan said, “The market’s going to tell you what it’s worth. The market said it’s not worth $75,000.”
Samuel F.B. Morse (No. 20) School, the “home of champions,” captured the Scranton School District Eighth-Grade Touch Football League title. Over a four-year span from 1949-52, Morse teams won 14 championships. First row, from left: Robert “Pop” Jones, superintendent Scranton Bureau of Recreation; Frederick Bellucci, co-captain; Frank Fornaszewski; Adam Fornaszewski; Ronald Kulick; and Thomas Williams. Second row: Donald Jonas, co-captain; John Walsh; Jerome Walsh; and Andrew Shevak. Third row: William T. Hughes, school pricipal; John Migliori; Maurice Barber; Frank Klemitus; John Sumilas; and Charles Goffer. Fourth row: Virgil Argenta, Frank DeStefano, James O’Malley, Robert Kovach and William Kovach. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
A notice of a public auction for the sale of the former Samuel Morse School is posted around the perimeter of the vacant lot in West Scranton Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A corner of a large retaining wall of the former Samuel Morse School property on Farr Street in West Scranton on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. The Scranton School District tried to auction off the nearly-1-acre property, but got no takers. The block wall in foreground is a neighboring property. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
A large, long retaining wall of the former Samuel Morse School property on Farr Street in West Scranton on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. The Scranton School District tried to auction off the nearly-1-acre property, but got no takers. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The vacant lot of the former Samuel Morse School property along Manila Place in West Scranton on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. The Scranton School District tried to auction off the nearly-1-acre property, but got no takers. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
A corner of a large retaining wall of the former Samuel Morse School property on Farr Street at North Sumner Avenue in West Scranton on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. The Scranton School District tried to auction off the nearly-1-acre property, but got no takers. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Erosion damage on a large retaining wall of the former Samuel Morse School property on Farr Street in West Scranton on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. The Scranton School District tried to auction off the nearly-1-acre property, but got no takers. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Trees growing through a wrought-iron fence atop the large, long retaining wall of the former Samuel Morse School property on Farr Street in West Scranton on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. The Scranton School District tried to auction off the nearly-1-acre property, but got no takers. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The vacant lot and a retaining wall of the former Samuel Morse School property along North Sumner Avenue in West Scranton on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. The Scranton School District tried to auction off the nearly-1-acre property, but got no takers. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
People gathered in Shopland Hall in the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, for an upset tax sale. Before the upset sales, the Scranton School District in conjunction with the Lackawanna Tax Claim Bureau tried to auction off the former Samuel Morse School property in West Scranton, but there were no bidders. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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Samuel F.B. Morse (No. 20) School, the “home of champions,” captured the Scranton School District Eighth-Grade Touch Football League title. Over a four-year span from 1949-52, Morse teams won 14 championships. First row, from left: Robert “Pop” Jones, superintendent Scranton Bureau of Recreation; Frederick Bellucci, co-captain; Frank Fornaszewski; Adam Fornaszewski; Ronald Kulick; and Thomas Williams. Second row: Donald Jonas, co-captain; John Walsh; Jerome Walsh; and Andrew Shevak. Third row: William T. Hughes, school pricipal; John Migliori; Maurice Barber; Frank Klemitus; John Sumilas; and Charles Goffer. Fourth row: Virgil Argenta, Frank DeStefano, James O’Malley, Robert Kovach and William Kovach. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)