Thanks to the generosity of Dr. William Schaeffer and the late Kathleen “Kitty” Schaeffer, a Cornwall building dating back to 1865 has been preserved through a conservation easement facilitated by the Lebanon Valley Conservancy.
The building was originally used as a manager’s office for mining operations in the area and later converted into a private residence. The Schaeffers moved into the home in 1962, restored the building and raised six children there, according to a release by the conservancy.
“Preserving this property was the dream of Kitty Schaeffer,” Courtney Reimann, executive director of the conservancy, said in the release. “Our staff and board members worked diligently toward this goal over the last few years.”
The conservation easement placed on the property earlier this year allows the Schaeffers to maintain ownership of the property while limiting certain uses of the land to preserve its historical and environmental resources.
Together the two Schaeffer-owned parcels included in the easement represent just over 7.5 acres of now-protected land. The property is adjacent to Cornwall Manor and includes a span of Anthracite Run that feeds into the Snitz Creek and plentiful wooded areas.
“The property represents an interesting testimonial to the healing of the land after a heavy industrial past,” Chuck Wertz, conservancy board member emeritus, said in the release. “The process of extracting iron ore and other minerals from the ground left scars on the land, but also provides an example of nature’s ability to recover and renew.”
Read More: 53 acres of Mount Gretna woodland, former amusement park preserved
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