Your Dream House in Erie County?

In an effort to preserve one of Pennsylvania’s historic homes, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) is marketing for sale, removal, and preservation a two-story, three bedroom, one bath, Italianate-style house with many beautiful original features including brick exterior, wood floors, wrap-around porch, and pyramidal roof capped by a cupola.

The Joshua C. Thornton House was determined to be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C in the Area of Architecture, as a significant local expression of Italianate villa/Italianate residential property with good integrity.

Front and side elevations of the Thornton house. Photo provided by Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

Interested?

Facing West Lake Road to the north (2000 Lohrer Road, Fairview, PA 16415) in Fairview, Erie County, Pennsylvania, this domestic residence was built by Joshua C. Thornton in 1870.  The home, which has been used as office space for the surrounding Fairview State Fish Hatchery operated by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC), is proposed for removal either by marketing to dismantle and move it or by demolition.

Thornton house (marked by blue arrow) and property in the 1876 Everts & Stewart Combination Atlas Map of Erie County.

The PFBC and its partner in preservation, the PA State Historic Preservation Office  seeks to identify a potential buyer that would disassemble the structure and relocate it from the current property with the intent to preserve and retain its historic character and traits in keeping with the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.  Nearby lots or parcels would be ideal for relocation of the structure helping to keep this piece of local history… local!

The historic residence is being marketed through the state surplus process of the Department of General Services (DGS) via the website, https://www.govplanet.com/jsp/s/item/12680266?h=5259-22%2C741.  PFBC is seeking potential buyers until December 23, 2024, with removal of the structure from State property by June 30, 2026.

If you have an interest in purchasing the residence for removal or would like to view the structure, please contact PFBC’s Hatchery and Facility Engineering Chief, Shawn Wheeler, at shwheeler@pa.gov.

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