Beaver County Historical Research and Landmarks Foundation

The Beaver County Historical Research and Landmarks Foundation was incorporated as a nonprofit organization on December 14, 1971. This foundation was established to preserve a collection of the historical sites, records, and artifacts of Beaver County. One of the headquarters of this foundation is the well-known Vicary Mansion.

The Vicary Mansion

It is named after its owner and builder, Philadelphia sea captain William Vicary, who began constructing his mansion in 1826 and finally completed it three years later in 1829. Built of large, dressed sandstone blocks quarried on his Crow's Run property, the mansion boasts twenty rooms with red oak floors supported by hand-hewn beams almost twenty feet long. There are Several interesting rooms, such as the third-floor ballroom, kitchen, and a large ash room in the basement. Captain Vicary lived here until he died in 1842, and his wife Mary was to follow him just eleven years later. Following Mary’s death, the mansion was passed down through several generations of the family. Vicary's granddaughter, Anna Harvey, rented the house out for a period to Edward Bischoffberger, a wealthy Freedom businessman, and finally sold it in 1924 to Joseph Nannah, also of Freedom, for the princely sum of $10. Upon Mr. Nannah's death, the mansion passed to his daughter, Hazel, who divided the mansion into three apartments in 1948. 

From Miss Nannah, the house was bequeathed to Gerald and Aloha Phillips, the final private owners. In the early 1970s, the mansion was slated for demolition when the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation began the construction of a highway through this area. Fortunately, Mildred Arbutina Pappas, the Beaver County Historical Research & Landmarks Foundation, county and local governments, and other concerned citizens worked very hard to save the structure. In response to their efforts, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation agreed to leave the building standing and erected a retaining wall to protect it. To preserve the mansion's historic significance, the building and the property were purchased by Beaver County in 1984 for use as a future history center. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, the mansion is currently undergoing restoration and, in 1999, became the permanent headquarters of the Beaver County Historical Research and Landmarks Foundation.