Scenic USA - Pennsylvania Slifer House Museum |
Feature article by Jessica Owens Pastuszek Photo by John D. Moore Inset photos by John Bodinger de Uriarte |
The Slifer House Museum, a historic mansion in Lewisburg, offers guided tours and special programming which focuses on preserving and bringing the Victorian era to life. The house, designed as an Italianate villa by Philadelphia architect Samuel Sloan, was commissioned by Eli Slifer just prior to the Civil War. Overlooking the Susquehanna River, the country estate was built for his wife Catharine and their six children.
A self-made man, Eli Slifer was orphaned as a child and still became a successful manufacturer, eventually serving as a prominent politician. Ultimately, he was appointed as the Secretary of the Commonwealth during the Civil War, selected by Governor Andrew Curtain to gather troops and ammunition for the Pennsylvania regiment. The twenty-one-room mansion was built on the Delta Place property, a 188-acre farm purchased by Eli Slifer from Joseph Musser. Moving into the house as the Civil War began, the Slifer family lived in the house until 1908 when it was sold it to Dr. Lamont Ross. Serving the Lewisburg community, Dr. Ross established his medical practice in the home. The mansion later opened its doors as the United Evangelical Home to serve the needs of seniors in 1916, under the direction of Superintendent Rev. Dr. Abraham Winter.
Slifer House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 26, 1975, thanks to the diligent efforts of a history committee. The committee opened the house as a museum in 1976, after restoring the original architecture and furnishing the house in Victorian era artifacts. Slifer House Museum maintains the history of the Slifer, Lamont families, and the Home, which included an orphanage and the first community hospital. Today, the museum is operated by Albright Care Services, a parent nonprofit organization. Albright relies on public contributions, membership dues and the commitment of volunteers to continue its dual mission of preservation and education.
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