THE SIGNATURE HOUSE – 109 W. MAPLE AVENUE
Known
as the Tomlinson-Huddleston House, the building separated from the Langhorne
Hotel by a fenced yard, was either a rebuilding of a house that had burned or a
new building for Richard and Hannah Tomlinson, who had lost another house to
fire.
The
structure is unique in that there are six names or sets of initials and four
date stones carved into the exterior walls of the house.
While many other eighteenth century stone homes in Bucks County have date
stones, none exhibit so many names, particularly so many non-owners’ names
carved at the same time. This
structure is virtually a signature house of Langhorne’s founders; thus it has
become known as The Signature House.
The
signatures include: (1) Isaac Watson carved “I. Watson” and a hatchet as the
symbol of the master builder which can be seen to the left of the front door,
facing Maple Avenue. (2) Initials and the date , 1783,
of the first owners, Richard and Hannah Tomlinson can be seen between two
of the second story windows. (3)
Isaac Hicks, close friend of the Tomlinsons and the father of the Peaceable
Kingdom painter, Edward Hicks, carved his full name on the east side of the
house. (4) Joshua Richardson, a neighbor, carved his initials and date on the north side of the house.
(5) William Paxson,
another neighbor who helped Tomlinson with the construction signed “W. Paxson”
and the date. (6)“I.T.” was
Isaac Thackeray, listed as a “cordwainer” in the Middletown Township tax
records. Edna S.
Pullinger, a Newtown writer pointed out that the master builder was the
carpenter who made the wooden coffins in which the bodies of 160 dead soldiers
were placed and were buried in The Revolutionary War Burial Site on Bellevue and
Flowers Ave. She also pointed out
that Edward Hicks once lived in the house for a short period.
A fire, that destroyed the carriage shop, inspired his master to move out
of the parental home.
Just 24 feet 9 in. across and a fraction of an inch over 28 feet deep, the original house had two rooms and a hallway with circular stairs on the first floor, three rooms and a hallway upstairs, an attic and a basement. Originally there were two fireplaces on each floor – a large one in the kitchen on the first floor. The family of George G. Ehrlen purchased the building in 1936 and in 1943 restored it to its original appearance. Ruth Ehrlen Irwin and her sister Arabella Ehrlen Dittmar, daughters of George Ehrlen grew up next door where their father owned and operated the Langhorne Hotel. In 1972, the Irwins consulted with architects who specialize in restoration. By this time, the front hallway had lost its circular stairs, rooms had been added to the back of the house and some Victorian features like a bay window were part of the building. This pleasing and attractive home, to this day, is occupied by members of the Ehrlen family; a home which is a living history record complete with signatures.