The 305-yeard-old Ashbridge House needs local support for some repairs — and the Downingtown Area Historical Society is running a restaurant raffle to help fund the work.
EAST CALN — Time has taken its toll on Ashbridge House, the Downingtown Area Historical Society’s 305-year-old headquarters on Route 30 in East Caln.
The 18th Century house’s walls aren’t tumbling down, but several of them sure are leaking, and rainwater is seeping into the interior. That is happening because the decades-old mortar, which bonds the stonework on the house’s exterior walls, has deteriorated and the mortar requires re-pointing.
The Historical Society started the re-pointing process at the house several months ago, when it had the mortar of the 1850s summer kitchen addition replaced. That repointing job was done by Paul’s Pointing of Kennett Square, a masonry contractor which specializes in working on historic buildings. It cost $3,600.
The next re-pointing operation will be on the house’s east side wall. That job will cost $16,000, and it must be done ASAP.
And that’s why all the proceeds from the Historical Society’s second annual “A Taste of Chester County” restaurant raffle will be used to pay for re-pointing the east wall. The raffle winner will receive six $200 vouchers, with a total value of $1,200, for meals at six local restaurants: Amani’s BYOB, St. Anthony’s Restaurant, The General Warren Inn, The Kimberton Inn, The Orangery, and The Thorndale Inn.
Raffle tickets are $50 each. They can be purchased by:
- Sending a check, made out to DAHS and mailing it to: DAHS, P.O. Box 9, Downingtown, PA 19335;
- Buying them at Ashbridge House, next to the Chick-Fil-A Restaurant on Route 30 in East Caln, on Sundays from 1-4 PM;
- Buying them at one of the participating restaurants.
You also can order them by calling 610-269-1709 or sending an email to: Info@downingtownareahistoricalsociety.org.
The winning ticket will be drawn at 3 PM on Sunday, November 16. You don’t have to be at the drawing to win. For more info on the raffle, go to: www.downingtownareahistoricalsociety.org.
