My mother and I were JUST talking about this house. On Saturday.

Drew - I was in the RE business for years, and have always been an inveterate open-house attendee. I found this place online when looking at Easton real estate. My SO has lived in Easton all his life and had no idea what I was talking about when I described the place, so I think it's been "hiding in plain sight" for a long time.

I'll be posting more about this place, but it *is* for sale (as a bank repo), but it needs more work than Arnold Schwarzenegger's reputation. Part of my fascination is that I can see what it must have been - once upon a time - and it's now almost an utter ruin.

Maybe this is where the library ghosts are living!

My grandmother told us stories about it once upon a time. We asked her when we went to visit her that Saturday but her mind isn't what it used to be and she had trouble understanding what building I was talking about.

I'm moving to Easton next fall, and so have been trolling the real estate listings. I am pretty sure I know the house you're writing about, and can't wait to hear more, and see it in person at some point. The house really intrigues me.

Julia:

Thanks for reading and leaving a comment!

I am heading to "the mystery house" in about an hour. I've received permission from the realtor to explore the grounds, and I have two new friends who will be coming with me. They have extensive historical knowledge of Easton, and believe there is actually the rema....well, the rest will have to wait until we visit and do some sleuthing.

Stay tuned!

haha -- I'm on the edge of my seat, here! ;)

I would LOVE to see someone buy this house & restore both the house & the grounds to their former glory. I 've been fascinated with this house, but have neither the money nor expertise to rehab it. It has been on the market for quite some time and the price keeps dropping yet no takers. I'd love to explore the grounds and house.

I've walked through the house and property recently. The house is a total mess -- a roof repair was left undone (you can see daylight in sections of the attic ceiling), so there's beam rot and lots of mold and drywall damage. It's really sad actually -- the terra cotta tiles are sitting up on the roof waiting to be put back in place.

There's also missing fixtures, termites in the basement support beams alongside a decaying footer, a cracking chimney, and some questionable improvements have been done along the way. The worst "improvement" involves a half bath in the passageway between the foyer and the kitchen. Not only does it not have a sink if I remember right, but they cut out a portion of a floor beam to make room for the pipes which has caused the floor to sag. O, and the back deck is falling off, and the side deck has already been removed, and vagrants (or whoever) are starting to break windows. Yikes! This place not only requires a lot of love, but also a lot money.

When I was a child (some 25 years ago), I lived in the alleyway behind the Express-Times. This house sat up on the hill across from me and was visible during the late fall and winter months........and fear of this house was not the word for it!!! Myself and a few of my childhood friends would go on adventures throughout the grounds around the home, including a garage that once sat a little bit up the hill from the house.....but we would never, EVER step foot in the house or even on the porch. I have alot of memories of living their, and the Big Haunted Mansion on the hill is definitely on the top of my list!

Pam & Eastoner:

Thanks for your comments - I should have Part II up this week.

Eastoner - you're right. I have learned a few things about the more modern history of the remaining house, and as is the case when anyone loses a house, it's a sad story. Someone who obviously did care about the place started renovations and then lost the house. When I was up there (with realtor approval), one of the beautiful leaded glass window panes in the front of the house had been broken. These types of architectural details can only be replicated today (if at all) at a huge expense. Sad, really.

Again - thanks for reading and thanks for your comments - will have Part II up soon!

Pamela

Pirmigrin:

Neat story! I can see how it could appear haunted to a kid! Now it's really more sad than anything else. I have some photos of the grounds up there I will post with my next story; the views from the very top of the property must have been breathtaking "back in the day" when the tree line wasn't as high and dense as it is now. It seemed I could almost reach out and touch the houses in College Hill.

Thanks for reading and commenting!

Pamela

Id really be interested to know more about the entire grounds that surround the House. Standing from North West St, there is a stone wall that leads to a set of stone steps (steps which we used to play on many of times). Behind the stone wall there is sometype of room, I was told it held coal but Im not sure about that. Theres alot of interesting things around the place for sure!

Any updates since your walk around the grounds? Did you find anything interesting? I am so intrigued by the history of this property. Thanks!

Erin:

Yes, and yes! Coming soon - I'm waiting on permission to publish a key photograph! Thanks for reading - I appreciate it!

Excellent! Looking forward to it. Thanks so much!

I've been anxiously waiting for the next installment as well. Been watching for updates. I see the property is scheduled for auction in a few weeks. the auction website has lots of photos which show the work that will be involved in rehabbing. Crossing my fingers someone will buy and restore it to live in. It's so historic and with all the property I'm surprised the city redevelopment group isn't interested in checking it out.

I promise to have the next installment up as soon as I get clearance on the photo, which is the linchpin of the article. Keep your fingers crossed!

http://digital.lib.lehigh.edu/cdm4/beyond_viewer.php?CISOPTR=7659&ptr=7896&searchworks=cat30items

This address will give you a digital copy of a photograph of the Steckel Mansion which was located on the summit of Mount Jefferson at the turn of the 20th century. The upper driveway and lower driveway as depicted in the photograph are still visible on the property. The mansion was razed but foundation walls are visible on the property. This building was the last building to stand on the summit and could be reached from steps build down to Spring Garden at 4th Street. Probably Steckel, an Easton attorney, used the steps to get to his 4th Street office.

Not really. Lot's of unanswered questions.

What happened to the Steckel Mansion, fire or delapidation. Why and when was the gatehouse built. It is connected to steps leading to WEst Street. Why?

Several commercial developers have purchased the site with the intent of building something big-hotels, apartments, etc. Why did they fail. Is the site not good for construction. Is that why the Steckel mansion is gone and why nothing ever took its place.

Lots of unknowns. Lots of needed answers.

How about if we wait for the author of the blog to follow up?

She seems to be patiently waiting for the rights to provide photos and/or links to said photos.

I'm guessing that giving links to photos without giving the photographer credit and/or getting their permission is not allowed.

This afternoon the auction company had an open house and I toured the house & walked the grounds. I overheard someone who brought a contractor state that it would cost $100-$150,000 to restore. While I was walking the grounds I found remains of another home further up the hill--I am wondering if that is the original mansion, and the home being auctioned was another home built around the same time on the property. That would explain why the current home doesn't seem to be as opulent as some of the other 1900-era Easton mansions. I'm hoping that special person will purchase it at auction this Thursday and restore it's beauty.

Pam:

Good guesses - I know I am overdue on the wrap-up, and I promise it will come soon. I hope like you do that someone will be able to restore it. If not, another piece of the town's history will be lost.

Thanks again for reading - means a lot!

I looked at the house with the intention of rehabbing it. I love old places with lots of acres to roam and this place has both. I got one estimate to fix it: $230K! And that didn't include fixing the walls along West Street, clearing the land of all the overgrown trees and brush and all the unknowns that are sure to pop up. The Town did a Buyers pre-bid inspection. They found 93 violations! Some were minor and repeated a lot, like covering lite switches, but many would require major repairs.
I just couldn't justify it with the real estate market the way it is.
The uniquene features of the property are also some of its flaws. The West side of the Mountain is an almost straight drop to the roadway below. Not a place you would want children to roam. I was even nervous with my dogs. There are also big boulders that could fall to the roadway below; I think the owner would be responsible.
It may be a great place for the Town to build a Park!

Bob

Couldn’t fit all this in one post:

The house went to Auction today with a minimum opening bid of $10K. There were no bidders. I heard that the Bank had turned down offers in the $50-60K range. They may accept less now.

The Town has a file on the property you can look through. On the far North of the property there was a Carriage House/Apartment that burned down in the about 1970s-80s. Some of the remaining foundation looks to be very old, the mortar looks to be from a time before modern concrete was available. I assume the Carriage House was built on top of the old foundation when the Mansion was built (late 1800's?).

The picture that Pam supplied (Thnx) may have been taken shortly after the Mansion was completed. The walls along the right side of the property, which you can see if you zoom in, were completed but there are now identical walls to the left of the Photographers position that weren't there when the picture was taken. (These walls appear to be made with modern concrete. That’s what I am using as a comparison to date the other structures.)

Bob

Continued:

I'm not a Architectural Historian but the existing house looks to be what I would call a ‘Four-Square’ which was typical of the early 1900s so I expect it was built quite a while after the mansion which appears to be mid-late 1800’s.

Its foundation is of stone construction, which appears to be built with mortar older than the house; it looks to be pre-modern concrete. It’s possible that the house was originally a Servants Gate House that was built along with the Mansion and rebuilt later.

To add to the mystery, there is a sub-basement. I assume it may have been the basement of a home that that pre-dated the Mansion. (Be careful if you go in to look, the floor over the sub-basement is rotted and it’s about a 12-foot drop to the lower floor.) The basement was completely finished; unfortunately that trapped moisture between the stone foundation and the Plaster walls, that is likely to be the reason for the extensive rot/termites.

There are what appear to be cisterns near the bottom of the property aong the East side. I assume they supplied water for the Mansion (not easy to drill a well in a rock mountain!). There are also stone rooms that I assume were root cellars, probably pre-dating the mansion.

I’m not originally from the area so I can’t offer any personnel observations. A Deed search may fill in many of the properties unknowns.

Bob:

Thank you for your comments. I work in NJ and was unable to attend the auction (I would have like to have done so). I was afraid it would not attract any bidders, but from what I've seen personally (which is confirmed by your observations as a potential investor) I seriously doubt anyone will buy the place with an eye towards restoration. At best, they'll tear it down and build something else, but with the incline and vegetation and all the cistern/holes/wells, etc., it would be a challege, to be sure. When you think of it, that makes the existence of that huge house even more impressive...imagine hauling that quantity of building materials up there with horses and carts, which must have been the case back then.

The view up there over Route 22 is spectacular.

Thanks very much for reading and commenting

Pamela

Hi, I looked at the auction website last night to see if it sold, and it said high bid was $93,000 so I assumed someone bought it. If you were there & no one bid--maybe the high bidder changed their mind! I'm also surprised the city wouldn't be interested, if only for the land.

That's a possibility, Pam - especially with the land being adjacent to the library. I just wonder, though about (a) liability - you'd have to fence in all along the perimeter because that's one heck of a drop from up there!, (b) parking/traffic if it were to be turned into a park of some sort, and (c) all those underground issues - cisterns, wells, old basements, etc.

A strange piece of property to be sure.

I was at the auction yesterday, and it sold for 93k to a real estate agent. I got her number, and from her zip code, it looks like she's NYC based. I'll let y'all know if I learn anything of her plans...

Jared - thank you very much for the update...and thanks for reading here.

Pamela

Glad to hear it sold. The auction web didn't show any bids. Surprized it went for that much. It had been listed several months ago for $84K and Iassume they would have taken less.

It was re-listed on the MLS site... did the sale not go through?

Hmm. I'm not sure, Emilie! Zillow shows it has an erratic listing history:

2.2.11 - listed for sale by auction company
3.26.11 - listing removed
5.5.11 - listed by realtor
5.13;11 - price reduced
6.17.11 - listing removed by realtor
6.17.11 - listed by auction company
7.22.11 - listing removed by auction company
7.22.11 - listed by realtor (again!)

Curiouser and curiouser!

Yea, that is what I was looking at as well. If you do a little digging through Google, the auction site has been running the property through auction since April of 2010... It seems it just will not sell... It makes me wonder why...

Well, from what I've seen, and what others have reported - it's basically a tear-down. The location is amazing, but I just don't know what could be done with it. I'm going to call the auction company (will try tomorrow, but being a Sunday...dunno) and see what's up.

Thanks too, Emilie, for reading the blog. I appreciate it.

Hi all, I also noticed it is still on the mls, but assumed that they would not pull it off until an agmt was finalized. The listing date is still 5/4/11, so it's the same listing.

Hi, just a follow up on this house--it apparently sold a few weeks ago for $68,250. I believe it is the realtor referenced above who bought it. I saw it in the property transfers listed in the newspaper. I can't wait to see what is done with it--I'm still hoping for a restoration! And maybe part 2!

Pam:

Thanks! I have just been really remiss in posting Part II. It sits in my out box; I need to send it to my far more knowledgeable friends for a once-over. I will make it a goal to have it up this month.

Thanks for reading - and being patient!

Pamela

Interestingly, I stumbled across this site on another Easton matter.

I can indeed shed some light on poor Mount Jefferson. My grandmother, Mabel Simmons Steckel lived in that house. Her son, Henry Franklin Steckel II was my father. He grew up there as well. His father, Daniel Edwin Steckel died when my dad was just a boy, so I never got to meet him. He, Daniel, was a lawyer like his father Henry Franklin Steckel (who was also a member of the Pennsylvania State Legislature). Our family goes back quite a long way in Pa. history. We are descended from the Daniel Steckel that built the home in Bath that is now 'The Steckel House' b&b built in 1804. That Daniel lived to be 101 years old and lived through the Revolutionary as well as the Civil wars. He's buried in the cemetery in Bath.
We, my sister Elisabeth Ingham Steckel Armstrong and brother Henry Franklin Steckel III have many wonderful memories of the house on Mt. Jefferson. It was a wonderful, comfortable home with the best of everything available at the time. When my grandmother became too old to stay there alone, my father was forced to make other living arrangements for her and we eventually had to sell the property.
My great grandfather, Henry Franklin did live in the upper main house that was lost in a fire long before I was born in 1952. The structure at the NE corner of the property was originally the carriage house that was converted into a garage when the auto took over. (continued)

There is much more I could say about my childhood memories of the place. All were pleasant. It was a lovely home and it breaks my heart to see it in such a state. All things pass.

Best, William Bradford Steckel, Calgary Alberta Canada. 3.16.12

I am Brad's sister, Betsy Steckel Armstrong, and am amazed by all these posts about Mt. Jefferson. I have so many wonderful memories of being with my grandmother, Mabel (Marnie) Steckel and her sister Marion Simmons Newell, who lived with my grandmother until the late sixties when they became too old to continue living there. It was a charming, gracious home filled with many stunning antiques - a lovely property. I spent many weekends there and my family celebrated all the holidays at Mt. Jeff. It is so very sad to see it literally rotting away. The house was built for my grandfather and grandmother when they married, I believe in 1908. I think that Bob Steinert has is right. The house was most likely a Gate House that was re-built for my grandparents as a wedding present. My understanding is that the Big House on top of the hill which my great-grandfather built was torn down and did not burn down. My grandfather's sister, Jennie Steckel, lived there until she died but I'm not sure when that was. When my grandmother left, the property was sold to Rock Construction Company which planned to build an apartment building or maybe condos on the summit. My understanding is that the sight would have been too difficult for such an ambitious project. The company then sold the property. I live in California and last saw Mt. Jefferson about 7 years ago. It broke my heart to see what has happened to that lovely place.

This rather long url below has a picture of my great grandfather's "big house" on top of Mt. Jefferson. Whether torn or burned down, it's gone! I have a great picture of Henry I in a carriage in front of that house too. Best, Brad Steckel, Calgary

http://digital.lib.lehigh.edu/cdm4/beyond_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/bs&CISOPTR=7659&DMSCALE=6.25&DMWIDTH=500&DMHEIGHT=500&DMMODE=viewer&DMTEXT=&REC=1&DMTHUMB=1&DMROTATE=0&ptr=7896&searchworks=cat30items

Oh, and I never saw, heard or even considered the possibility of any haunting in the old place. It was too happy a house. So those so inclined can relax on that issue. ;)

Cheers,
Brad Steckel

I am close friends with Ms. Porter.
She asked me to post on her behalf
She is very grateful for the families responses to her article.
She is having some computer issues at the moment and will respond when those issues have been solved.

According to realtor.com, the property sold last October for $68,000. I'm very curious what the new owners plan to do. I hope they will restore rather than tear down.

Also thanks to Brad & Betsy for sharing a bit about your family and your home with us! You can tell this was a beautiful home in it's day, and we'll hopefully be able to see it restored.

Betsy & Brad:

Thank you so very much for taking the time to read & comment on the blog post - I'm honored you are here!

Would it be possible to speak to both of you - either by phone or email - so I can write my (long overdue) follow up piece? I have some additional questions I'd love to ask you. If you would be interested, please email me at pamelabporter@yahoo.com

I *can* say I have spoken to the new owner of the property who told me she has every intention of renovating it. She also said that we should take everything we think is wrong with the property and multiply it by about 100. There are over 70 individual leaks in the roof, and that's just the start.

Thank you again - *so* much for participating here!

Pamela Porter

This is a test to see if my account has finally been activated.

And it has. Yay.

Betsy:

Double "yay"! I am so looking forward to putting everything you've sent me into my next blog posting - I've already started working on it!

Please do keep it going, Pamela.
It hurts me every time I leave the library. So happy to see a tarp and now can we have real hope? I'd love to have a closer look, but the "keep out" signs do keep me out.

Oh, boy, here's a long shot.....Does anyone know of an Ed Shaneberger who purchased the property in 1994? He was written up in the E. Express (11/30/94) and in the article he said he had a photo album of my father's that said Henry F. Steckel, Sept. 1, 1924, on the front. I would love to know if he still has that album. According to the article, which my mother had saved, he would be about 50 today and in 1994 he was an "independent audio and video producer." Maybe he's still in Easton and all you sleuths might have some ideas about tracking him down!

Watch this space - updates to "The Mystery On Bushkill Hill" will be published later this week!