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    Insufficient grounds for historic preservation

    Online Niel Posted on

    Little of the history of the building that most recently housed the Grasshopper store has been found. And it has been modified over 150 years, the study says.

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    A Study of Origin and Uses the former Grasshopper store at 2818 W. Eighth St. in Millcreek concludes that the building is not worth preserving on historical grounds.

    The building is believed to have been a school in 1865, but there is little documentation of its early history. Physical changes over the years have eradicated almost all of its original character. And there are no accounts or diagrams of its original design to guide restoration, according to the historic resource study by Angelique Bamberg of Clio Consulting, Pittsburgh.

    “The prior loss of architectural integrity and the lack of documentation of the building’s early history as a school do not support a case for physical preservation on grounds of historic significance,” Bamberg concluded in the survey’s findings.

    The conclusion was echoed by Millcreek Township General Authority Executive Director Matt Waldinger in a statement Tuesday.

    “The report by an experienced and reputable preservation expert did not support the preservation of 2818 W 8th in its current form and stated that it was impossible to associate the structure with any of Millcreek’s history,” Waldinger said.

    Bamberg previously served as a historic preservation planner for the Pittsburgh Department of Planning and served on the Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Board. She has a master’s degree in historic preservation planning from Cornell University.

    The historic resources survey was commissioned by the Millcreek Township General Authority after residents and Preservation Erie called for the Grasshopper Building to be saved and reused, possibly as a visitor center.

    “The school is one of the unique and unique identifying features on West Eighth Street. It exudes a distinct sense of Millcreek’s place as a rural farming community,” resident Mary Ellen Magoc told township supervisors after the property was acquired by Millcreek Township General. Authority for redevelopment in 2023.

    The findings of the property’s historical resource study will be presented by Waldinger during Tuesday’s General Authority meeting at 3 p.m. Copies of the inspection report will be available at the meeting and will be posted on the authority’s website at millcreekgeneralauthority.org.

    Study: History of the school

    Bamberg’s research summarizes what is known about the school that once stood on the site.

    The school is shown in the 1865 Beers Atlas of Erie County and was known as Schoolhouse No. 2 and later as the Laird School, according to the 1982 history of the Millcreek Township School District by teacher Patricia Pollifrone and her students.

    Little is known about the school’s construction, architecture, students, attendance area or curriculum, all of which diminish its historical significance, according to the Historic Resources Study. “In the absence of any substantial historical information, it is impossible to associate 2818 W. 8th Street with significant themes in Millcreek’s history, its education, or its architectural heritage,” according to the survey findings.

    It is not certain that the actual building was the Laird School, according to Bamberg’s research. In 1876, the county atlas shows a small one-story building on the site of property then owned by contractor William Scott. The structure is not labeled as a school and does not resemble a school of the era.

    “…Some evidence suggests that the building depicted on the 1876 map is neither a school nor the current building at 2818 W. 8th,” according to the survey findings. The report claims that instead the building may have been a frame house described in Scott’s 1874 deed. The deed mentions other buildings and plantations on the property but does not mention a school.

    The Laird School was most likely closed in the 1870s when the Scott School was built across the street, according to evidence, including an early recollection reported in a 1953 Erie Times-News article about an antique store opening in the former school. The Scott School was believed to have been incorporated into the Manor Motel building, which was purchased by the Millcreek Township General Authority in 2023 and razed this spring.

    By 1952, there was a brick house on the site of the Laird School, according to an Erie County property survey.

    Architecture and changes

    The Grasshopper building today looks nothing like a mid-19th century school, including others that survive in Millcreek.

    Renovations and additions over the years “have obliterated almost any original evidence of the building’s school architecture,” Bamberg wrote in the survey results.

    “The building at 2818 W. 8th Street has not been a school for approximately 150 years and has been substantially and repeatedly altered since then. It therefore does not retain the integrity of the association with either the history of education or the design of the school.” according to the study.

    Waldinger: “Research is valuable”

    “The passion of the people of Millcreek to preserve its history and commit to its future is part of what makes Millcreek a great place to call home,” Waldinger said in a statement at the historic survey from Tuesday.

    “While the preservation experts’ review found no cause to preserve or maintain 2818 W. 8th in its current form because it is impossible to associate the structure with any of Millcreek’s history, the research is valuable as it relates to our broader history wide. “

    Redevelopment in the Presque Isle Gateway District along West Eighth Street will “modernize one of the Township’s key business and tourism corridors into an engine for economic development and tourism,” Waldinger said.

    Contact Valerie Myers at [email protected].

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