Allegheny National Forest archaeologist Zaakiyah Cua will be the guide for the evening.

In the years following the Revolutionary War General William Irvine scouted the area near the confluence of Brokenstraw Creek and the Allegheny River. He was so entranced by the land he obtained warrants for several tracts. In 1795, he accompanied Andrew Ellicott on his mission to survey Pennsylvania’s northwest and again visited the area. All in all, Irvine acquired over 1,000 acres of land in the vicinity of Brokenstraw Creek.

Irvine’s son Callendar built a cabin there, but it was Callendar’s son, Dr. William Irvine, who enlarged the small farmhouse into a grand Victorian mansion in the Greek Revival style.

The building was home to generations of the Irvine family until the last descendant passed away in 1963. Unfortunately, the condition of the historic mansion had deteriorated to the point it had to be razed in 1973.

Times Observer file photo ANF District Archaeologist Zaakiyah Cua speaks during a tour of the Irvine-Newbold mansion held last week. The structure in the background is one of several stone houses built as part of the estate specifically to house the workers needed to make the estate operate.

The estate is located in the woods off of Dunns Eddy Road and fronts the Allegheny River. The estate was passed down through the family and to the final residents, the locally-famous Newbold sisters.

Cua, district archeologist for the Bradford Ranger District, said during a 2022 tour the property, 1,000 acres, was sold to the National Forge in 1963 and that the mansion — which had fallen into disrepair — was demolished in 1973.

She explained that the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy purchased the property. From there, the ANF purchased some of the property from the Conservancy, resulting in the current ownership of the estate with some land in state, federal and private hands.

The state property, the Anders Run Natural Area, includes one of the stone homes built in the 1840s for those who worked on the estate.

the estate, Cua walked through what once was there — a guest house, horse barn, water tank, windmill, flower gardens, corn crib, greenhouse with a banana tree, boat launch, saw mill, milk house, wool mill and tenant farmer houses.

The most visible remaining element is the ice house along the riverfront just steps from the site of the mansion.

Fence posts can be found on the forest floor in places as well as fieldstone where the mansion was once located.

The tour will begin at the Wilder Museum, 51 Erie Avenue, Irvine, PA 16329. Proper footwear is a must. The cost is $5, and all proceeds benefit the museum.

The Wilder Museum is open on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. through Labor Day. Additional hours for Sept. 5 through Oct. 11 will be Friday and Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.warrenhistory.org, call 814-723-1795, or like the Wilder Museum’s Facebook page.