Exclusive Behind-The-Scenes Tour, Lecture At Historic Tyler Hall

NEWTOWN, PA — The Newtown Historic Association and the Bucks County Community College Foundation are partnering to present a special program on Monday, April 17 spotlighting the legacy of George and Stella Tyler and a behind-the-scenes tour of their one time home, Tyler Hall, on the campus of the Bucks County Community College in Newtown.

The special evening begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Zlock Auditorium with a keynote talk by Dan Tyler, the grandson of George and Stella Tyler and the author of a newly published book on the Tyler’s life and legacy, “Bucks County’s Benevolent Squire: In Search of George Frederick Tyler.”

Tyler will show how his grandfather and grandmother, Stella Elkins, managed to represent the class of "Perennial Philadelphians" into which they were born, while at the same time using their talents and inherited wealth to benefit society.

"If you put my grandparents' lives in context, they emerged from a group of Philadelphians called the Perennial Philadelphians. These were people whose ancestors had made a lot of money after the Civil War, mostly in transportation, mining and finance. And they were kind of content to live in their own world.

"What I learned was that my grandfather began an emergence from that cocoon after his experiences during World War I and after surviving the 1918 pandemic," said Tyler. "He began looking for land outside of Philadelphia and the Main Line."

George and Stella purchased a sizable amount of land in Bucks County just outside of Newtown and built a home at Indian Council Rock. The land today is now home to Tyler State Park and the Bucks County Community College.

"He wanted to do something meaningful and lasting," said Tyler. "I don't think he realized that the legacy he left was going to be one of the nicest parks in Pennsylvania and a home, Indian Council Rock, which has became one of the most impressive community colleges. It is an incredible legacy," he said.

In addition to Tyler's talk, Matthew Metcalf, coordinator of Historic Preservation at Bucks County Community College, will provide an overview of the architectural history of the Tyler mansion.

Tyler Hall on the campus of the Bucks County Community College. (photo by Jeff Werner)

Following the talks, participants will be treated to an exclusive behind-the-scenes architectural tour of Tyler Hall led by Metcalf.

The tour will explore rooms seldom seen by the public, including Mr. Tyler’s Study (the Provost’s office) and Mrs. Tyler’s bedroom (the CFO’s office).

“It’s going to be a special treat for people to see those spaces which are probably a lot more preserved than anyone would expect,” said Andrew States, assistant director of the Bucks County Community College Foundation, which raises funds for the historic preservation of the house.

The evening also will include the unveiling of a portrait of George Tyler that will hang on the second floor of the mansion in a gallery of portraits.

“We have three wonderful portraits of Mrs. Tyler, but we have none of George so we commissioned one and it will be unveiled at this event,” said States. “We’re doing this to share our beautiful building and our beautiful campus with the Tyler family home, which is the emotional heart of the Newtown campus.”

“It should be a really cool event. People will get to see rooms in the mansion house that are not generally open to the public and hear Dan talk about his family. It should be a really neat evening,” said Brian Rounsavill, past president of the Newtown Historic Association and author of the book, "The History of Tyler State Park - A Self-Guided Walking Tour."

Monday’s event will also serve as the NHA’s annual membership meeting, which is held once a year.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased via: http://weblink.donorperfect.com/TylerHistory.
For additional information, call the Newtown Historic Association at 215-968-4004 or visit
www.newtownhistoric.org.