The Anchor House

Once part of the large Paxson estate, the creation of this property can be traced back to 1891. Sarah Ely Paxson sold the property to developers Alexander Manning and John Simpson Betts, who then sold off dozens of North Main Street lots after the road was relocated to the west, away from the Delaware River. The home on 68 North Main Street was built circa 1898. There are currently 8 similar modest Stick Victorian-style homes still standing on North Main Street in the New Hope Borough Historic District. Prior owners of the property have been several prominent families in the history of New Hope and Lambertville, Magill, Holcombe, Ely, Betts, and Balderston.


Michael and Paul acquired the property in 2014. Over the past 9 years, they have completed an extensive restoration. The original house has since been updated with an emphasis on restoring the character and material of the original design. The metal siding was removed and all of the original exterior shiplap siding was restored as well as the long hidden scallop shingles located at the apex of the roof.


The exterior was repainted with period colors from the late 1800s. Real working Timberlane shutters were installed with a personalized anchor cutout. The original slate roof was removed years ago and is now replaced with an architectural asphalt shingle to mimic a wood-shake roof. One feature that stands out is the 17 light diamond pane windows that grace the home's exterior, enhanced by a rectangular split two-pane glass transom window above the front door that local artist Ilia Barger hand stenciled No. 68 using gold leaf paint.


An electric doorbell echoing an old-style pull-string bell system has been installed. When the new hardwood floors were installed a surprise trap door was discovered under layers of older floor renovations which led to an underground 6-foot deep by 4-foot wide 1000-gallon basement cistern originally used to hand pump water into the kitchen sink. The cistern has now been turned into a wine cellar.


The original home was built with two wood-burning stoves for heat and a rear yard outhouse. In the early 1900s, cast iron radiators replaced the two wood-burning stoves and are still being used to heat the original portion of the home today.


A new rear addition includes a first-floor den with a wood-burning Mercer Tile fireplace and an additional fourth bedroom Master Suite overlooking the Delaware River.

New "Lambertville" fluted trim was milled for inside the addition.


An additional staircase leads up to what once was a third-floor unfinished attic. The roof line was so low that you literally had to get onto your hands and knees to enter, but once inside there was ample ceiling height. A new dormer was added to fix this issue and the attic now includes additional living and office space.


Stone aggregate was mixed into the tinted grey cement for the new sidewalk and walkways to be consistent with historic guidelines. A rear detached cinderblock two-car garage circa 1950 has been renovated using the original home's exterior trim and stone foundation and is graced with an illuminated octagon cupola. A matching rear carriage house door has been added to the garage and when both doors are open the river view, once blocked, can now be seen from the first-floor den windows. It is now reminiscent of a boathouse. A covered patio connected to the garage includes an outdoor gas fireplace and kitchen. A gangway leads to a new dock along the Delaware River. The prior owners presented a horseshoe that they had found buried in the rear yard, perhaps offering good luck to the new owners.

1955 and the early 2000s brought flooding to New Hope. During the 2006 flood the house, surrounded by water, was pictured on the front of the New Hope Gazette.

Advertising brochure from AV Manning’s Sons, circa late 1890s, for development of North Main Street, New Hope. The circled property is the featured historical property, 68 North Main Street.

The Parry Mansion Museum Archives Team is a team of passionate and energetic volunteers who bring diverse, professional backgrounds to advance our archives with programs such as this monthly series “Beyond the Door,” and individual and community research request fulfillment and so much more. Many thanks to the Archives Team!

Beyond The Door

Buttonwood Street Home was Once a Stable across Bridge Street at the Old Hip-Roof House

January 17, 2025
Buttonwood Street in New Hope is just one block north on Chestnut Street from Bridge Street. This article will focus on one home on Buttonwood, but also remark on other interesting properties nearby. The subject home on Buttonwood was once a stable located on the Bridge Street property now known as the Wedgwood Inn Bed and Breakfast. The inn is clearly visible from Buttonwood Street. At a recent visit to the property on Buttonwood the current owner related that the stable was built in 1833, and at least partially supporting that assertion was the hand-hewn post and beam construction found under the walls during modern renovations. Such construction was most common from the mid-17th to the mid-19th centuries. As stated in our earlier "Beyond the Door" article about the Wedgwood Inn, the building now housing the inn was constructed in 1870 on the stone foundation of an earlier "old hip-roof" house built in 1720. The Buttonwood property owner says the stable was moved to its current location in the 1940's or 1950's and then was used by a blacksmith, and later an upholsterer. In 1958 it was converted to a home. If the stable dates to 1833, it must have been present during the time of both the original 1720 house as well as the still extant 1870 building now housing the Wedgwood Inn. 

Parry‘s General Provisions Store

October 30, 2024
Situated directly across Main Street from New Hope Historical Society’s Parry Mansion is one of the oldest surviving buildings in New Hope, now housing several commercial ventures including Farley’s Bookshop. The New Hope Historical Society (NHHS) archives include a copy of Margaret Bye Richie’s extensive and well-documented review of historic buildings in New Hope for her 1987 academic dissertation in the University of Pennsylvania Department of American Civilization. In it, she noted that the northern portion of the building was built circa 1748 and was represented on Benjamin Parry’s 1798 map as “No. 21”, while the southern portion was built circa 1830 near the time of the canal construction. Her 1980’s conversation with local architect Donald Hedges quoted him that in 1940 a sign stating “Parry’s General Store” still hung on the building. The Parry Store was likely the first provisions store in New Hope. 

Canal-side House Pre-dates the Canal

August 2, 2024
New Hope Historical Society archives volunteers recently met with Ernie Bowman at the historic home he shares with his wife Dee Dee at 116 New Street. This home is the south side of a stone double house that was built facing east over 200 years ago, before the construction of the Delaware Canal which now borders the home in its backyard. After the canal was built and New Street was constructed the front door was changed to the west side of the house facing New Street. Due to the slope of the land towards the canal, the original second floor became the first floor entering from New Street. The original first floor was transformed into an above-ground basement with an outdoor entrance facing the canal. Ernie Bowman believes prior to the canal being built by 1834, that the future towpath near the house may have been used as a carriage path. New Hope Historical Society archives files indicate the house was likely built by Joshua Vansant. When Ernie and Dee Dee purchased the home in 1982, much of the original woodwork inside the home was intact and to this day has never been significantly altered. Although the 1983 nomination form for the National Register of Historic Places for the “New Hope Village District” lists the house as being built in 1805, during renovations of the now basement level, a penny from 1817 was discovered under the floor, perhaps indicating that as the date of construction. 
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