If you are looking for pictures of our historic office please click here.

The Jonas Rupp House is located within the metropolitan Harrisburg area, but specifically in Hampden Township, a suburb of Greater Harrisburg. The facility, itself, consists of approximately 10,000 square feet of usable space, now utilized principally as a law office. The 1773 stone building stands together with a new Twentieth Century addition on approximately 1-1/4 acre tract of ground. The project defies the normal design standards as it incorporates the historical nature of the stone 18th Century building together with the architecturally compatible new building to the rear. It provides a large open space with landscaping, a well, gazebo and colonial garden to enhance the overall ambiance of the project.

The project began with the principal building which was built in 1773 and had been used for approximately the last 50 years as a restaurant and tavern. In the last 15 years, a large deck had been attached to the old building and various efforts at design integration were attempted by previous owners, including one so abominable as T-111 siding adjacent to the historic stone building. In an effort to avoid the problems inherent in land development in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a building permit was secured for the erection of a structure exactly conforming to the size of the existing deck, therefore eliminating the need for further environmental studies and land development issues that would obviously have arisen on such a site. This enabled us to secure a building permit and to proceed without delay on the restoration and construction.

The project began with the acquisition of the property in May, 1997 by Blue and Gray Acquisitions, Inc., owned by my wife and myself, and the removal of 124 tons of debris from the site that previously housed restaurants and bars for the past fifty years. Construction and restoration of the 1773 home began in August, 1997.

As is the case in any restoration, the difficulties, the expenses, and the solutions to problems are always unique. In the case of the Jonas Rupp House, the difficulties included those usually associated with the restoration of a 200-year-old stone home, together with the integration of a new 5000+ square foot architecturally compatible addition.

The removal, remilling and replacement of 230-year-old flooring created its own difficulties in managing the restoration, but it afforded an opportunity for hiding HVAC, electric and plumbing that had previously been fully exposed, and insulation of the stone building to standards required by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The original floors now grace the old building as they did two hundred years ago.

The 2-1/2 story stone building required the use of two separate heating and cooling systems solely because access between floors was impossible due to the two-foot-deep exterior walls and the desire to maintain the historical integrity of the building.

As to exterior issues, there existed four layers of roofing supported by the pegged 18th Century rafters. Through tedious repair and replacement, the roof was replaced with the two century-old rafters intact. Architecturally, the transition from an 18th Century stone building to a new 20th Century structure was achieved by not trying to copy the historic stone building but by complementing it with an aesthetically and historically similar building design and architecture. The transition of the building between the stone 18th Century structure to the brick 20th Century structure was achieved with handmade metal roofing, painted in the barn red color of the period and the use of colonial beaded siding to fully complete the transition.

The stone exterior of the building required stone repair and repointing in places that necessitated the craftsmanship and training of someone schooled in 18th Century stone and brick work. During demolition of the 20th Century fireplace, an 18th Century walk-in was discovered. The brick walk-in fireplace contained, as a treasure trove, many 18th Century bricks piled behind the 20th Century hearth that had hidden the walk-in fireplace. This find enabled the walk-in to be restored using period bricks.

In an area once known as the kitchen, now transformed into a reception area in the 1773 building, a fire had raged for some time in the last two hundred years, requiring repair of period beaded joists and the cover-up of a portion of the one-piece chestnut structural beam which measures 18"h x 20"w, and runs thirty seven feet through the building. Otherwise, 90% of the structural beam and its mortised joists remain exposed, reflecting the architecture of the era.

The new portion of the building had to be built upon the footprint of the deck that had been used by the restaurant. At one point in time, the restaurant attempted to enclose the deck with T-111 siding, however it never reopened. Our job required us to remove the existing walls and utilize the existing footprint and floor to build the new structure.

The restoration of this building and the addition of the new building literally caused a rebirth of interest of history tied to this building in Central Pennsylvania. For many years, people looked at it as a modern day tavern when, in fact, the building had a long and dramatic impact upon this area of Pennsylvania. The home was built by Jonas Rupp in 1773 with an addition in 1787. It was called the great stone mansion of Jonas Rupp and saw many visitors during his efforts to aid in the Revolutionary War, the founding of Cumberland County and his aid of General Washington in the Whiskey Rebellion. He, as a German immigrant, organized government and religion in Cumberland County and left many ancestors who were prolific writers, cabinet makers, statesmen and soldiers to follow in his footsteps. The Rupp family resided in the property until the early 20th Century.

Perhaps of most significant historical interest is the use of the home as the Confederate headquarters of General Albertin Jenkins in June, 1863. John Rupp, grandson of Jonas, fled with his family to Lancaster when he learned of the pending Confederate invasion. General Jenkins' presence marked the northernmost incursion by the Confederates during the Civil War. If he had not been recalled by General Lee to a little town called Gettysburg, most assuredly the capital city of Harrisburg would have fallen.

In short, the 1773 building and improvements, as presently constituted, is one of a kind in Pennsylvania, and the unique characteristics of the building resulted in incredible attention from the public. People in the area clamored to the facility for tours when the 135th anniversary of the invasion of the Confederates occurred in June of 1998. We now look forward to further participation in historical home tours and historical reenactments in the coming years.

For more information on Civil War era history, visit the Gettysburg Preservation Society web page