LOWER MERION – A historic building dating back to Lower Merion’s earliest days could soon receive new historic protection from the township.
During a Building and Planning Committee meeting this past week, the committee voted to authorize advertising a public hearing and to add 901 County Line Road as a Class I Historic Resource. Historic resource items with a Class I designation in Lower Merion cannot be demolished without the approval of the board of commissioners.
Reconstruction of the house. During a Building and Planning Committee meeting this past week, the committee voted to authorize advertising a public hearing and to add 901 County Line Road as a Class I Historic Resource. Historic resource items with a Class I designation in Lower Merion cannot be demolished without the approval of the board of commissioners. (Photo Lower Merion Township)
Greg Prichard, historic preservation planner for Lower Merion, outlined some of the building’s history.
Prichard said the log house is located on County Line Road and may date back to the township’s earliest days. But he added that, as with any building that old, its exact age can be difficult to determine.
“We don’t have the original building plans in the township archives like we do for a building of the 1920s,” Prichard said. “But there’s been a good deal of research done by a number of individuals, including the owner of this property, who is the nominator.”
According to Prichard, the building is connected to some of the earliest property owners in the Bryn Mawr area.
Over the past decade, the house has undergone major renovations to help restore it.
“The property was in a rather sorry state about 10 or 12 years ago when the current owner purchased it,” Prichard said. “It didn’t look like much. Nobody really knew what was underneath layers of stucco and other materials that had been just kind of slapped onto it over the years.”
The current owner, Prichard said, decided to see what was underneath those layers of stucco and other materials and discovered the original log construction.
According to Prichard, after uncovering the original logs, some were deteriorated and had to be replaced. The owners tried to save as much of the original as possible. They also did what they could to find compatible salvaged materials from buildings of a similar age, which the contractor integrated into the structure.
“So, really a remarkable building and a remarkable effort to preserve it and save it and make it an amenity to the community,” Prichard said.
Prichard said he visited and toured the site.
“It’s a very small building, but to restore it to the state was really quite a feat,” Prichard said. “So again the owner is the nominator. He wants to make sure that the house is preserved in its current state and agreed that the Class I designation will be the best way to go about doing that.”
According to information from Lower Merion, the renovation received an award at the 2017 Lower Merion Township Historic Preservation Awards. And the renovation was covered by the Main Line Times, and various other media outlets.
Board President Todd Sinai also commented on the building.
“I think this is a terrific resource, and I absolutely commend the owner for,” Sinai said.