Help Restore the Bicentennial House!

Preserve an important part of a western Pennsylvania National Landmark District.

This 1824 house is undergoing restoration as an Ambridge Economy 2024-25 Bicentennial Celebration project.

In 1824 George Rapp's Harmony Society purchased 3,000 acres in Beaver County, Pennsylvania along the Ohio River to create the town of Economy. Here in Economy, the Harmonist society became one of the most successful religious communal groups of the nineteenth century. The Society sought to create a utopia. Their financial success and self-sufficiency stirred the interest of economists and social reformers throughout the United States and Europe.

On September 5, 1824, George Rapp stated in a “…We now have six double houses, two finished, one in plaster stage, two weather boarded and the sixth half. Three single houses: One weatherboarded and two not covered yet nor weatherboarded”

This house, located at 284 13th Street, is one of those first six double houses the society built in Economy making it one of the oldest houses in Ambridge.

The Ambridge Historic District Economic Development Corp has recently acquired this house with the intention (for the purpose) of restoring it for the town's upcoming Bicentennial Celebration in 2024-25.

UPDATE: AHDEDC Receives Rivers of Steel Grant

The Rivers of Steel Heritage Corp of Homestead, PA has awarded a match grant of $5,210 to the Ambridge Historic District Economic Development Corporation (AHDEDC) for the recently acquired property at 284 13th Street. This historic home is one of the first six houses built by the Harmony Society in 1824 in their new settlement of Economy, now Ambridge.

Through this Rivers of Steel grant, AHDEDC plans to stabilize the building and conduct preliminary investigations into the needs for preservation and rehabilitation. This will include efforts such as replacing damaged sill beams, closing exterior openings, removing a rear addition and two dilapidated porches. Work also includes installing and upgrading electricity, removing transite siding and investigating the soundness of the nineteenth century siding, securing the property through installing a fence, and creating an interpretive marker for the house.

This project was completed in partnership with the Rivers of Steel Heritage Area. Funding was provided in part by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation, Environmental Stewardship Fund, administered by the Rivers of Steel Heritage Corp. Work on the project will commence immediately. The total project cost is anticipated at $10,420. Tax deductible donations to assist with the grant’s match requirement are being accepted through the AHDEDC. You can make a difference by donating today to Ambridge Historic District Economic Development Corporation.

In 2017, after Preservation Pennsylvania listed the Bicentennial House as one of the top 10 endangered historic buildings in the state, we received grant funding from their organization which allowed us to hire an architect for the purpose of developing plans for potential future uses of the property. This was executed on behalf of the building's owner at the time to assist in marketing the house to potential buyers. None were found. In August 2020, we took ownership of the property with the goal of restoring it for the Ambridge Bicentennial in 2024-25.