Welcome to Heslet House lodging

Welcome to Heslet House! We hope you like what you see here.  We have put many years of hard work into the authentic restoration of the house for you to enjoy.

Through the many years we worked on this and other historic buildings in the Economy National Historic Landmark we’ve come to a new appreciation of history in its many forms. We hope to share what we’ve learned and to be a source of inspiration and encouragement to anyone considering restoring a house, or moving to what is known as Old Economy Village.

It may be bad English to use the third person “we” in writing this blog, but to make matters worse I’ll probably liberally interchange it with the singular “I”, because the Heslet House restoration was an individual effort that could not have happened without the help of good friends and some skilled trades.  So I will tend to use we talking of our collective efforts when credit is due and I for where I should probably limit blame to myself in order to protect the innocent.

That being said, the one thing I want everyone to know is that you don’t have to be a professional to restore a house.  I believe everyone has the inate ability to restore something historic, whether it’s a structure such as a house, or storefront;  or an object such as a document, furniture or monument; or even a historic garden.  But what you do need is to gain the necessary understanding of your subject before you lunge head first into a restoration creating irreversible damage to what you’re trying to save.

Almost all of my restoration work has been in one neighborhood – Old Economy Village – in the river town of Ambridge, Pennsylvania.  Ekonomie, as it was spelled by the original Nineteenth Century inhabitants, was the precursor to Twentieth Century Ambridge.  It’s a place that you can only see with your eyes wide open.  There are the obvious prominent state-owned buildings, but outside the museum grounds lies the bulk of the unrestored old village patiently waiting for the right person to restore it.

So, I hope to share more thoughts on historic building restoration in the future and I invite you to come visit for a day and take a look around and join us for a stay in Old Economy Village in Ambridge, PA.

Check back often as we share more information on the area’s history and restoration information.

If there is something in particular you would like to know about, drop Dennis a note here.