The Mystery On Bushkill Hill - Part II

It was a dark and stor…no, that’s not right.

It was a hot and humid Saturday afternoon last June. 

My dog Cody, aka The World’s Least Scary German Shepherd, accompanied me to a shady parking spot across from the library.  There we met two new friends, Richard and Ginny Hope.  The Hopes are local history experts whose contributions towards solving this puzzle have been tremendous.

It seemed that everyone knows of or wants to know more about To some, it figures as a childhood “boogeyman” (boogeyhouse?) 

From others, it elicits an “Oh yeah!  I’ve always wondered about that place”, or in the case of even life-long residents of Easton, a “I’ve lived here all my life and I never knew that place existed” is a common response.  The local librarians are curious, there are rumors of a fire (of 3 fires!) as well as cannons and steps that lead to nowhere and hidden well openings and maybe even a creepy tunnel. 

Even a local Easton police officer who noticed us on the premises (thankfully, I had written permission from the realtor to prowl the grounds!) told us he had “heard things” about the place.

Ginny and I climbed the drive, armed with our digital cameras and our “permission slip”.  Cody led the way, and immediately headed for the shade of the porch of “The House”. 

Clues abounded all over the property; stone steps that lead to upper levels of the property as well as steps that seem to lead to…nowhere.  A fireplace is all that remains of a building on the upper portion of the estate, and there are various cleared areas and even some sort of laid pathway that just…fades away.

Richard (along with unindicted co-conspirator and fellow local historian, Len Buscemi), provided amazing historical records that indicated a “big house” was originally located on the property. 

Henry Franklin Steckel (1829 to 1919) was a prominent local attorney and landowner.  He owned numerous properties in Easton, including the Central Hotel, which is now know as the .  He also owned a mansion at 48 Centre Square, which is now the location of . 

In 1866, he married Anna Melinda Whitesell.  In what was certainly *not* a common occurrence for wives of this era, Mrs Steckel was noted for her business sense and according to Richard F Hope’s research “rendered her husband great assistance by her remarkable insight into his varied business affairs”, and in fact, most of the Steckel property would be held in her name.  In 1867, Henry F Steckel purchased a farm near Bath and retired from his Easton law practice because of ill health. 

In 1896, Mrs Steckel purchased the Mt Jefferson property for $7,000, and it appears the family returned to 48 Centre Square while the “big house” was being constructed.  At some point between 1900 & 1906, Steckel and his family moved to the subject of our investigation – Mt Jefferson (aka “Bushkill Hill”).

While the existing house is our “mystery”, the “big house” is also the subject of much speculation.  That house can be seen in the accompanying photograph. 

(For more in-depth information on “the big house”, keep an eye out for articles by local historian Richard F Hope in upcoming editions of the “Easton Irregular”.)

Now – back to our mystery!  Efforts to renovate the property (which consists of 4.94 acres) were undertaken by numerous owners, however, fires to the carriage house/servants quarters along with vandalism of the house itself contributed to the downturn in the condition of the entire property. 

There were reported thefts of tools and one owner in the early 90s gave reports of squatters (an upstairs room was found “littered with pages from a 1964 New York Times, some black-capped crack vials and a couple of old oil portraits of prosperous-looking men.”)    The property was most recently lost to a tax sale in April of 2010 for the amount of $2,743.  The bank who bought the property listed it for sale several times, and also set it for auction more than once.  It was finally sold at auction on 10.20.11 for $68,250. 

The existing house is now truly in a tragic state of disrepair.  There appears to be terrible structural degradation (the 2-level back porch is virtually sliding down the incline to North West Street.)  The roof has innumerable leaks, some of the beautiful leaded glass windows are broken and heating/plumbing systems are most likely inoperable and have been stripped by scavengers. 

Perhaps saddest of all, as witnessed by the accompanying photographs, are the “might have beens” – a kitchen in the midst of being renovated, and what is obviously a child’s bedroom, decorated with paintings of Peter Pan, Wendy and Tinkerbelle.  This house needs a lot of investment – of time, of money, and of love.

If you look past all of this, though, and through the gorgeous leaded glass front windows, you can see signs of amazing craftsmanship from another more elegant age –what appear to be mahogany or chestnut parquet floors, a window seat in the front room, wainscoting, detailed ceiling moldings and an old-fashioned letter slot near the front door.  What was this house like “back in the day”?  Who lived here?  Why did they leave? 

Next – the conclusion of the Mystery on Bushkill Hill.  What happened to the “big house”?  Who lived in the existing house?  What about those steps up from North West Street?  And that door in the wall along North West Street?  Stay tuned – I promise you will have the answer very soon!