House Tour: Pheasant Hill Farm in Bucks County, PA
Take a long drive down this wooded lane with me today to Pheasant Hill Farm. It’s an historic property on 47 acres in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and it’s on the market for $6 million. The MLS listing notes its age as 250 years. You don’t see many properties that old in America, that’s for sure.
The main home has 4 bedrooms and 3.5 baths, but there are also a series of frame and stone buildings that represent one of the earliest settlements in Pennsylvania. This is truly a rare property.
To take a tour of Pheasant Hill Farm, click “more” below:
Here’s a view of the main house as you come up the long drive:
A barn and another out building:
Garden gate:
Gardens:
The back of the main house:
The living room of the main house:
One of the 4 bedrooms. And hats. A lot of hats:
The dining room (I think–can you see through all that stuff? Is there a table and chairs in there somewhere? I also think I might see a fireplace, but it’s hard to tell!):
Family room with an exposed-stone wall:
Take a gander at this screened porch. I’ve been to flea markets with less stuff than this!
The back of the main house and the pool:
There are 47 acres surrounding this historic home. I know this is in Pennsylvania, but it makes me think of Little House on the Prairie (maybe because I’m reading that series to my daughter right now):
I love this old stone building on the property with overflowing flower boxes:
According to the MLS Listing:
Just above the historic village of Carversville, a long private lane lined with split rail fencing leads through the woods to Pheasant Hill Farm. A collection of well tended frame and stone buildings grace the spectacular hilltop setting giving the impression that one has arrived in a small English village.
Public records show this to be one of the earliest settlements in the community with a dwelling as early as 1704. Today the Bucks County stone structure is a beautifully designed country house with four bedrooms.
Secluded from other properties, the house and outbuildings are surrounded by enchanted gardens and lavish lawns that seem to roll out like a verdant carpet to distant woods. The main residence sits on ten glorious acres. There is a large party room on the second level of the stone barn. The remaining 37 acres, part of which is farmed and part wooded, comprise a separate tax parcel and deed.
I love finding unique properties like this. Can you imagine living in your own small village?
If You’re Hooked on Old Houses:
- Sears Modern Homes: House Kits from Catalogs
- The Spite House in Virginia (only 7 feet wide!).
- Cobble Court, a manor in Ohio built to look like a French-Norman estate.
- Stokesay Court, the estate used in the Keira Knightley film “Atonement.”
- Coco Chanel’s elegant Parisian apartment at 31 Rue Cambon.
- 1908 Mansion for sale in Compton Heights area of St. Louis.
- Mark Twain’s Tiffany-decorated mansion in Hartford, Connecticut.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:04 am
I, for one, LOVE it! That house is my dream home. Always has been, always will be. I’d love to live in the country…. far, far away from everything… well, except Target. :o) Let’s not get crazy.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:52 am
I would love to see those rooms emptied out. Too much stuff by far. Maybe they’ll have a garage sale when they move. This is not far from where I live. I’ll have to go.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:01 am
Oh wow…love the driveway!
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:37 am
Sure is nice to see how the other half lives! Wow!
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:37 am
man, when i see what you can get else where in the country for this kind of change, i realize how chumped out we all are in L.A.
this is beautiful. sigh.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:37 am
Love that stone building and those FLOWER boxes, so pretty…. Such beautiful grounds..
Have a great day Julia,
Kathy
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:39 am
Even though the decor isn’t my taste, it’s clear that somebody really loved this place. I wonder why they’re selling.
P.S. You have a fantastic blog.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:46 am
I grew up in PA and have a special affinity for PA farmhouses. BUT…I think this person is an Americanaholic. This house taken down to the bare bones is a jewel.
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:31 pm
I love it! So much green! The inside decor is a bit too “country” for me, but my mom would be in heaven. Like Laura said, without all the stuff, it would be perfect.
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Are people living in this place? I can not comprehend someone having that much “stuff” in a house. I used the word stuff lightly. I like nothing on counters. The only things that is allowed on my counter are; coffee maker, my Kitchenaid, knives, and a small Tiffany Lamp in the corner to give light during the night.
I was told by a Realtor one time that a house sales better when it has NO clutter. I can agree. When we were looking for a home, I couldn’t look at a house if there was a lot of junk in the house. Maybe I’m weird.
Thanks for making me appreciate my plain,simple home.
Lynn
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Wonder if a full time duster comes with the purchase.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:57 pm
OMG! I love the driveway and property. I am sure I would love the inside too if only I could see it. It looks like they hosted a flea market on the property and I started raining so they took it all inside.
I love the english “important clutter” look but this goes way too far.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:37 pm
That is a truly awesome place!! WOW!
M
April 24th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
I love the grounds. The trees, grass and greenery, not to mention the privacy. It’s so lush! Makes me really miss the landscape up north. Everything in florida seems so…..sandy, dry and landlocked.
April 25th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Have they never watched “Design to Sell”? Remove all the clutter and they’ll have an easier time selling. It is a gorgeous property though. The MLS listing says it even has it’s own tavern!
April 25th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Its own tavern? How did I miss that? Thanks, DaK! What a great selling feature for a property.
May 1st, 2008 at 6:58 pm
I don’t want to come off wrong here, so I need to give some background. I grew up in this home with my parents, sister and brother. It provided a place to live like I have never experienced before. It truly is a village of sorts and yes the historical data is true. The party room is a converted Barn, which is where the boys went to play. The house is crowded with many items, but my mother is a collector and many pieces are from the period. She filled this house for the better part of thirty plus years. To say it was addictive would be unfair. She gave many things a pleasant place to rest I would put it. The house is Americana as it is only one of a few that was built during the pre revolutionary era. I cannot say enough of my home.
They are selling because they no longer have their children there and it is a major undertaking to care for.
I just wanted to set the record straight. This home is for someone who apprecaites the earliest Pennsylvania settlements and the time they represent.
Chris
May 1st, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Wow! I’m so thrilled to hear from you, Chris!
I love this property. You were so lucky to be able to grow up there. I can’t even imagine. Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us!
Please don’t take us too seriously when we make “funny” comments about all the stuff in the house. We all know people who like to collect various things, and I personally know two who have Americana-style homes similar to this (but of course not as authentic–they could only dream of having a home like that). It’s really a stunning example of the style and suits a property with this kind of history.
This is a light-hearted site and we don’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings, certainly. I apologize if we did. We’re just not used to seeing homes with so many collections. That’s what made it even more unusual, and exciting to look at.
I truly hope it will find new owners who have loved and cared for it as much as your family did. Thank you so much for taking the time to write us! -Julia
May 1st, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Don’t worry I take everything fairly lightly myself. The “flea market” comment was a bit out there though. Anyway, I do agree that if everything was removed there would be a TON of room, but this is where i grew up and how I look at my home. On another website somebody commented that it was “expensive for the area”. If you know Doylestown and the surroundings I would hope so. There are a few homes that i can think of that represent this period, but not many and certainly not many with the construction strength. There are Mercer tiles in the kitchen and original plank wood throughout. Regardless if one had no interest in buying, it is worth seeing for sure. We were never a working farm, but rather rented the lower land for animal corn growth. The view is unbelievable looking out over the whole valley. Regardless of what Toll Brothers has done with its McMansions…they are miles away and the home is surrounded by other farms of historical relevance.
On another note I do enjoy hearing what people have to say positive or negative because it is worth hearing. The hush of the valley and rustle of the trees is considered priceless in my book and it will be missed.
Thanks
C
May 1st, 2008 at 9:06 pm
The house has been in numerous magazines over the years..H&G, Country Living, etc… One great article coined it as the Country Home and “whimsy garden”. My Mother’s knack for gardening is quite extraordinary and is worth the trip alone.
I will miss the home, but to be honest not one of my siblings has the time or money to care for such a property. We are very hopeful that the right person with the ideal of this house in mind will snap it up. We really want somebody to care for it and the property as we have for so many years. Namely we want it protected.