You can experience Victorian Williamsport with a visit to the Rowley House Museum. Highlights of this beautiful house include: extraordinary carved indigenous woods, all original fixtures, magnificent plaster moldings and ceiling medallions, imported English Minton tiles in the vestibules and fireplaces, tiffany quality stained glass representing every facet of the glassmaking arts and late 19th Century “modern conveniences” such as gas and electric lighting, water closets, dumbwaiter and speaking tubes.
In 1888, one of the wealthiest men in Pennsylvania, Edwin A. Rowley, completed his residence on the most affluent street in Williamsport. Designed by Eber Culver, this 13-bedroom residence contains indigenous woods lumbered locally at a time when Williamsport was known to have more millionaires per capita than any other city in the United States. It is a showcase of woodwork of mahogany, cherry, maple, walnut, white and red oak and yellow pine.
There was no expense spared and this masterpiece of architecture is distinguished as one of the finest examples of Queen Ann Victorian architecture in the Commonwealth. The home was equipped with some of the finest electric lights available as well as gas fireplaces equipped with gas logs.
Since the house has had relatively few owners in its lifetime, it is a showcase of originality that is presented to the public for study and enjoyment. It is a unique survivor where circumstances preserve the house like a time capsule – a window through time into our past.
The house was purchased in 2002 by two local businessmen who had almost completely restored the first floor before they sold it to Preservation Williamsport, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving Williamsport’s past.
The Rowley House Museum is located at 707 West Fourth Street, Williamsport and is open to the public on Wednesdays from 1 PM to 4 PM. Admission is $10 – Children are free. If you are visiting the area on any other day, you can call (570)323-2144 to schedule an appointment to tour this mansion.
Email: preservationwill@aol.com