Forty Fort Meeting House Bicentennial 1807-2007

News Articles

Wilkes-Barre Citizens' Voice June 24, 2007
Historic meeting house to get firm foundation
by Heidi Ruckno
A historic building in danger of collapse will be renovated this week. Restoration work on the foundation of the Forty Fort Meeting House, inside the Forty Fort Cemetery , is tentatively scheduled to begin this week, said Jim Bell, an architect with Bohlin Cywinski Jackson in Wilkes-Barre . His firm has done some consulting work for the Forty Fort Meeting House Preservation Committee. According to a recent structural analysis, a new foundation must be built or the 200-year-old building could fall down. The preservation committee, formed in 1992, has asked Wolfe House and Building Movers in Bernville to reconstruct the foundation. The two parties are currently finalizing the plans, Bell said. According to Luzerne County Historical Society records, the meeting house was constructed in 1807 for use as a Puritan church. The building has also housed Presbyterian and Methodist congregations, and it is currently used for weddings, funerals and special services. The meeting house was the first worship hall ever constructed in Northeastern Pennsylvania , historical records indicate. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Designed and built by Connecticut architect Platt Hitchcock, the building is also one of the last surviving examples of Colonial architecture in the area. Besides the meeting house, only the Swetland Homestead in Wyoming and the Nathan Denison House in Forty Fort remain. Committee member Lillian Smith wanted to hire Wolfe because the company has a lot of experience with historic buildings. Just last year, Wolfe was hired to move the First Welsh Presbyterian Church in Edwardsville. The 100-year-old church had to be moved a half block to make room for the Lowe’s home improvement store in the West Side Mall. Although the congregation let mall owner WP Realty make most of the business decisions, church trustee Ann Smith said her congregation was very happy with the work Wolfe did. “We were very pleased,” she said. “There was no damage to the building whatsoever.” With the meeting house, Wolfe won’t have nearly as much work to do. The structure is staying right where it is, on its original site. It is just being lifted off its foundation so a new one can be built. Bell estimates that cost at $124,000. Lillian Smith had hoped to start work on Monday, but Bell said that was not going to happen. As of Friday Wolfe had not yet signed the contract, but Bell believed the project manager’s vacation was likely the only holdup. Consequently, representatives from Wolfe could not immediately be reached. The preservation project is funded entirely through grants and donations, and so far the committee has raised more than $250,000. Lillian Smith, however, said the project is costing more than expected. In order to stabilize the building on loose riverbed soils, a full basement is necessary. The current foundation is only a three-foot crawl space, she said. The committee hopes to raise $250,000 more, so there is enough money to start an endowment for future repairs. ©The Citizens Voice 2007

George Peck
Memorial
founder of
Wyoming Seminary

Forty Fort Meeting House Bicentennial Committee
last update: July 2007