It was an ordinary day. Just got back from the small town of Ephrata, Pennsylvania where I made a trip to take a couple photographs of The Andrew Baker Mansion which sits at 18 West Main Street in the center of town. Ephrata was at one time referred to as a village and was a key stop for the Reading and Columbia Railroads. A petition for a change to incorporate Ephrata into a borough was presented on April 20, 1891. Following many debates, the village was finally incorporated on August 22, 1891. The population at the time was about 2,200 people while today there are close to 14,000 residents in the town. I have written close to two dozen stories about the town and its residents over the lifetime of my blog, but I recently discovered, while reading a bit more about the town, that there is a beautiful house in the center of town known as the Andrew Baker Mansion.
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| The mansion known as the Andrew Baker Mansion at 18 W. Main St. |
The mansion was built for Andrew and Mary Ann Longenecker Baker and was designed by Jacob H. Banzhof. The Bakers were also the owners of the neighboring Eagle Hotel in Ephrata which was also built in 1891, shortly after the town was incorporated. The mansion was said to be located at 18 West Main Street near the center of town. That's when my wife and I decided to take a drive through Ephrata to see if we could find the home.
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| The Eagle Hotel that at one time was on the square in Ephrata, PA. Today it is referred to as the Wissler Building. |
Pretty tough to miss a place large enough to be considered a mansion we thought. We entered the town from the West and before long were a block from the center of town. To the right the addresses were even numbers so we knew we were about to see our target within seconds. I pulled into a parking space and there to my right was 20 West Main. Grabbed my camera and hopped out of the car to take a few photographs. I had read about the mansion a few days before and realized that I was looking for a home made with green serpentine stone.
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| This is the mansion at 18 West Main Street. Needs some help! |
Had to do some reading before I found that green serpentine stone is rather rare and found in only four states; Pennsylvania, Maryland, Oregon and California. Also found that the mansion had a concave mansard roof with singles of slate arranged in multicolored geometric patterns. I also found that Andrew Baker owned a coal and lumber business in Ephrata and said he was a 1892 promoter of the Ephrata Light Company in hopes of bringing electricity to the town. One final note I read was that the mansion was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
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| These two plaques are displayed on the exterior of the mansion. |
But, what I was prepared to see never materialized. Yeah, the home was at 18 West Main Street and was large, but I wasn't impressed. The house is in desperate need of repairs and seemed to be occupied by a few commercial businesses. The outdoor signs and advertisements ruined the historic look of what at one time must have been a beautiful building. I did see the historical signs on the front of the house, but it was no different than the sign on the house at 20 West Main Street.
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| Loczted at 20 W. Main St. is this very nice home. Perhaps in better shape than the one next to it at 18 W. Main. |
The roof appeared to be in need of repairs as was the entire outside of the home. I took a few photos of both properties and hopped back in the car. Told my wife, "That is so sad to see the condition of what at one time must have been the most beautiful home in town. The house next to it looks to be in better condition than the Baker Mansion." I started the car and headed back home, disappointed in what I expected to be one of the finest homes in the town of Ephrata. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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| This photograph shows some of the architectural features of the Andrew Baker Mansion. You can also see the green serpentine stone used on the front of the mansion |
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