The "Saving History - Piece By Piece" Story

It was an ordinary day.  The morning paper ran the headline... "HOME FOR CHRISTMAS".  

The National Christmas Center along the Lincoln Highway
in Lancaster County that closed last January.

Story told of the closing of the National Christmas Center in Lancaster, Pennsyl-  vania this past January and how it will be brought back to life in the future.  It was back in 2015 that Carol and I visited the National Christmas Center that opened along the Lincoln Highway (Route 30) to the east of Lancaster.  I posted a story showing all the neat and unusual Christmas items and collections at the holiday museum.  

A display from the 1950s was a favorite of mine.

I found display after display of items from my youth as well as displays of more current Christmas items that our children would remember from their youth.  The museum opened in 1998, but the attendance since that time wasn't enough to keep it open.  Many letters to the editor in the paper followed the announcement of the closing, but that didn't help keep the museum open.  Well, the newspaper told of the reopening of the National Christmas Center in time for Christmas in 2021.  

The Belmont Barn on the Mayer-Hess property.  Both barns were
taken down piece by piece and will be reassembled in the future.
The Belmont barn will be home to the National Christmas Center.

It will reopen in the recon- structed Belmont Barn on the property of Stone Gables Estate in Lancaster County's West Donegal Township.  I wrote of the dismantling of the Belmont Barn on the Mayer-Hess homestead a couple of years ago and wondered at the time what would be done with the beautiful and historic barn.  

The Mayer-Hess farmhouse with the Belmont barn in background.

The Mayer-Hess farmhouse, which sat next to the barn, still remains along the Fruitville Pike in Manheim Township and was recently renovated to be part of the nearby Belmont Shopping Center and an accompanying motel.  Stone Gables Estate has also purchased the contents of the National Christmas Center and will place the contents of the museum in the Belmont Barn when it is reconstructed.  Reconstruction is expected to take three years.  The owner of Stone Gables Estate is David Abel who has been rescuing historic structures for the past couple of years.  

The historic Star Barn which was disassembled piece by piece
and moved to the Stone Gable Estate about a half year ago.
This photo is from a few years ago, before it was moved.

He also purchased the historic Star Barn as well as the Herr's Mill covered bridge in the recent past.  He has already recon- structed the Star Barn on his Stone Gables Estate and will reconstruct the bridge as well as the Belmont Barn in the future.  He has opened his property for all to see the Star Barn, but at a fee.  The Star Barn is a great venue for weddings as well as parties and receptions.  The Belmont Barn will reopen in 2021 for all to visit the Christmas displays once again.  The business venture will keep historical buildings from being destroyed, giving new homes to closed public places and make the owners wealthy.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.