The National Trust for Historic Preservation has just released its annual list of the 11 most endangered historic sites. Among them, this 400-acre Pennsylvania farm that has remained in one family for eight generations. Built in 1797 by homesteader Irving Manchester, the elegant brick home is surrounded by spectacularly well preserved outbuildings. So what is threatening this rural slice of history? Longwall coal mining. Apparently, back in 1917, three Manchester sisters sold the mineral rights to most of the sprawling property, retaining the three acres immediately surrounding the house. Now there are plans to mine the area for coal using longwall mining, a technique that causes the land above to sink when the mineral is extracted. The National Trust is pushing miners to consider methods that would be less disruptive to the property.
· The National Trust for Historic Preservation's 11 Most Endangered Places [Chicago Tribune]
· Issac Manchester Farm [NTHP]
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