Researchers with the Urban Heritage Project (part of the Preservation Research Collaborative at Penn) are working with John Milner Architects to prepare a Historic Structure Report and Cultural Landscape Report for the historic Mifflin House property in Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. Built circa 1800 for Jonathan and Susanna Wright Mifflin, the farmhouse was a stop on the Underground Railroad in the 19th century. Based on its topography and its position near the pivotal Columbia River, it also may have been involved in the skirmishes leading up to the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. Meanwhile, for more than two centuries, the 87-acre property has been actively farmed as a robust part of Pennsylvania’s agricultural history.
In 2023, the Susquehanna National Heritage Area purchased the farm to save it from demolition and commercial development. The property was recently nominated to the National Register of Historic Places based on its social and agricultural significance, and the Susquehanna NHA has adopted a master plan to create an Underground Railroad Learning Center and public trail system on the property. The cultural landscape report and historic structure report will clarify the preservation priorities and rehabilitation opportunities for the future of the Mifflin House and its landscape.
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