Weisel Youth Hostel is sadly crumbling

Perhaps you have seen or heard of the Weisel Hostel off Richlandtown Road. It is a beautiful stone mansion and unique stone barn on 12 acres nestled in the middle of Nockamixon State Park.
It’s being destroyed. You should visit it soon.
The background of the property is sketchy, at best, and I am no expert. I can only piece together the snippets that we’ve heard over the years. Apparently, in the mid- to late-19th century, a Jewish immigrant tailor from eastern Russia, immigrated to America while fleeing an anti-Jewish pogrom and landed in Philadelphia.
While there, he invented the idea of a rental tuxedo company, made a lot of money, and bought a lot of land in what was then open country, Upper Bucks County. He built a stone barn and home in the style of his place of birth. His family enjoyed their country place. One of his relatives came by to see it while we were there and gave us pictures of the horse pasture and boardwalk along the Tohickon and family members enjoying the “gentleman’s farm.” I do not know the details, but at some point, the property was given to Bucks County, which, at the suggestion of a wise ranger, was turned into a Youth Hostel.
In the 1960s, the state began the process of creating Lake Nockamixon, and the Weisel property was in the middle of that real estate fray. Bucks County agreed to give the property to the state with the understanding that it could continue to run the hostel, but the county would be held responsible for the care and upkeep of the property itself. To the best of my knowledge, Bucks County held up its end of the deal.
My family was hired to run the hostel in 2002; The place was impeccable. The county had recently installed a septic sand mound, which cost over $50K, and during our 19-year stint there, the boiler had to be replaced, the roof repaired, the window woodwork repainted, etc. There was a neverending list of things that needed to be done, in addition to the normal yardwork, snow clearing and the like. Bucks County took care of it all.
However, the burden of physically maintaining the property was beginning to overwhelm the county. Can you imagine signing a lease to rent a property if you were responsible for all maintenance in addition to your monthly rent? That essentially was the deal.
So it came as no surprise when Bucks County called us in for a meeting in the summer of 2017. The commissioners were concerned about the property and the cost of upkeep. They graciously stalled action until our younger daughter graduated from Pennridge High School, for which we are so thankful.
We decided it was time to leave anyway; we started that day to plan the downsizing and cleanup of the hostel for our eventual move out in the summer of 2018. We informed the county of our intentions and proceded to get rid of stuff, sell stuff, etc.
It is amazing what people accumulate over the years. People are like gases – we fill whatever space we are provided, and the hostel was huge. Bucks County officially closed the hostel that spring and we, over the course of a month, moved out. We were sad, but also relieved. Running a hostel is not easy.
Visiting the old homestead a year later, the phone still worked, our keys still worked, the water was still on. I’m sure that people were using the space, but no one seemed to be aware. We thought it was funny at first, but then we got worried. It seemed odd that no one changed the locks or even cancelled the phone number.

That should have been a big red flag, because now, it is a boarded up nightmare. Windows are broken. Weeds 2 feet high grow out of the gutters. Weed trees are growing everywhere. I drove by earlier this summer and the grass was 2 feet high.
What happened? This is my attempt to raise a warning flag. You see, my wife and I raised our two daughters on the grounds of that estate. It was our home, and we treated it like it was our home. We planted gardens and trees.
We exposed stone walls in the fireplace room. We refinished the hardwood floors. We loved that place. Today, and over the last three years since the state has regained control of the facility and nothing has been done to protect and preserve this historical property. It is a disgrace.
We were recently contacted by a friend of a friend who had great plans for the hostel. I’ll call her Stacey M. We told her what we could about the facility and she weighed that against her plan for a Rehabilitation facility for recovering substance abusers. She envisioned a safe place for meetings, training and overnight stays.
She seemed very excited until she spoke with Steve Johnson, who is the assistant to Obey Derr (Who runs the park). Clearly, the state does not want anyone to use this facility, or it is completely ignorant about real estate, nonprofit organizations or anything to do with utilizing state owned gems in a way that benefits everyone.
Here’s what Johnson told her: She would be responsible for getting the building up to speed, she would be responsible for all upkeep and maintenance, and she would have to pay for fuel oil, electricity, phones, wi-fi, and insurance ($5K). Oh, and she would owe $3,000 a month in rent. So, if Stacey M’s nonprofit encountered a little septic issue to the tune of $5,000, it would have to cough it up. Really? Would you rent a rundown apartment with that deal?
Now, I’m no rocket scientist, but it doesn’t look like the state wants anyone to do anything with this property. It looks like they want to let it deteriorate to the point where they can say, “Oh! What a shame. It is a danger and must be demolished. Such a pity!”
If you think this is far-fetched, listen to this. There is another state property that people want to renovate and use and the state has held up the process for years. LLBean wants to use the old Keller Farm on Elephant Road as the headquarters for a LLBean Discovery School.
It sounds like a win-win. Company with deep pockets, noble use of state property, a promise to preserve a piece of Bucks County history – but LLBean has actually had to send lawyers to try to pry permission from somebody. Who knows?
Meanwhile, we can all watch as the Weisel Hostel, Keller Farm, and who knows how many other beautiful and historical properties rot and crumble into the dirt.

---

Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.