LETTER: Save Delco’s Historic Woodburne Mansion

The following letter to the editor was submitted to Patch. Letters to the editor are not written by Patch and do not reflect the opinions of Patch or its employees.

Help Save Delco’s Historic Woodburne Mansion!

by Friends Of Woodburne Mansion

The history of Delaware County’s Darby Borough goes back to a time that predates the arrival of William Penn and the American Revolutionary War. In an effort to help preserve a piece of the county’s distinguished history, a group of citizens is working to try to save the Woodbourne Mansion. Built 112 years ago by Edgar Thompson Scott and designed by world-famous Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer, Woodburne is a 55-room Gilded Age mansion located on county parkland, behind Little Flower Manor on Springfield Road.

In the 1930s, the land and its buildings became property of the Sisters of the Divine Redeemer. Woodburne was renamed The Little Flower Institute and later became an orphanage, then a nursing home. The nursing home closed in 2005 and eleven years later the entire property was sold to Delaware County.

Today the mansion is deteriorating from within. Stolen copper flashing has allowed water to permeate the building causing significant damage. As an urgent first step, a new roof is needed to keep water out and prevent further decay. The rest of the to-do list is long, owing not just to natural deterioration but to shockingly destructive vandalism over the years. Sadly, woodwork, plaster, flooring and more have been destroyed by thoughtless intruders and will need careful repair. The hope is to use Woodburne’s reconstruction as an opportunity to train residents for professional careers upgrading older buildings for modern use.

According to John Haigis, Chair of the Darby Borough Historical Commission and a member of the preservation group Friends of Woodburne, “The County owns the building but is unsure what can be done with it, or how it can be funded, so the building’s future is uncertain.” He added, “Our group formed this year to help the county find an appropriate and feasible adaptive reuse for Woodburne Mansion so it doesn’t just get torn down.”

Haigis also notes, “A small amount of work is urgently needed now to halt the Mansion’s deterioration and buy time to talk to people in the community to develop a vision for Woodburne.”

John and his wife Jan, who serve on the local Historic Commission, have a personal connection to the Mansion. “Jan and I are singers. We do musical performances under the name Past Times Present, and back in the 1990s we did our program at the nursing home. We are also historians and have been working with older buildings since 1985, when we started the Friends of the Blue Bell to save a historic (circa 1766) tavern in Southwest Philadelphia. These are important, solid buildings and losing them often is an unnecessary waste.”

Friends of Woodburne envision a bright future for the grand mansion of Woodburne and its grounds in which it becomes a valuable multifaceted resource for township and county residents.

According to Haigis, there are many possibilities The main building could be used as an event center appropriate for weddings, banquets, and conferences, with the second floor serving as office space, and the less-damaged kitchen wing being converted to a guest house. There’s even room for an art center, he says, and maybe an environmental education facility in the property’s barn.

But big ideas and big transformations take lots of hands, lots of time, imagination, planning, and of course, money. Fundraisers are being discussed for the near future, and conversations with Delaware County officials are ongoing to determine the best use of this great asset.

To stay up to date, find and join the “Friends Of Woodburne” Facebook page. Search “Friends Of Woodburne” at GoFundMe.com to help with a monetary donation. And read all about the history of Woodburne at DarbyHistory.com/Woodburne.

Let’s save this unique treasure!