Meadowbrook aka “My Summer Home”
I think by now everyone knows that I have a fixer upper farm in Pennsylvania in Upper Adams County, north of Gettysburg in the prime fruit growing region. My husband and I used to go on junkets through the countryside and I dreamed of having a place in the country surrounded by enough land to have privacy, farm animals and to garden. Westminster seems like “out in the country”, but this is even more so. My neighbors live on land that used to belong to this house’s estate. I did some research and can find evidence in land records of person’s living here in the 1780’s, people of Swiss ancestry. The house has gone through many changes. It’s a log house that was reconfigured at some point (we found the original window frames inside the walls) into a PA country Georgian (5 up, 4 down ). It has elements from the 1700’s in the logwork and basement, 1800’s in woodwork and ironwork, 1880-90’s in the kitchen and the greatroom was a 1980’s add on as was the ( not currently usable) pool building.
Barn and old horse shed 2006
The original barns and sheds were also reconfigured/parts reused in new structures. The bank barn burned in the 70’s and was later replaced by a roofed structure that was probably for apple growing equipment storage and sundries. Only the bank ramp and the foundation stonework with window openings is left. The shed was for horses at one time. We have about 12 acres including woods and streams on both sides of the road and my place sits right at a crossroads.
It has been called “Meadowbrook” since the turn of the century, but in the 1700’s the “manse” was “Richland” which seems like a hopeful statement. I definitely get into the feel of living in another time when I am out there.
