Patience, planning and partnerships have paid off in Hellam Township. For more than five years, The Conservation Fund (TCF), a nonprofit specializing in land and water protection, and Susquehanna National Heritage Area (SNHA) have been working together to save the Mifflin House and its 87-acre farmstead from the threat of demolition and development. The house, once a stop on the Underground Railroad in the 1800s, will serve as the future home of the Susquehanna Discovery Center & Heritage Park.

"During our collaboration, SNHA proposed the Susquehanna Discovery Center & Heritage Park at the Mifflin site as a national park-style visitor center for our two-county National Heritage Area," explained Mark Platts, president and CEO of SNHA. TCF acted as initial purchasing agent for the property and then transferred ownership to SNHA.

Acquiring the site aligns perfectly with SNHA's goals, he noted. "SNHA's mission is to connect the people and communities of Lancaster and York counties to one another and to the nation through stories about this nationally important place," Platts said. "The Mifflin site is the perfect place to carry out this work. ... It's an exceptionally important historic site in its own right. It includes historic buildings ready for adaptive use as visitor education facilities, and it provides almost 90 acres of historic landscape that can be linked to the Susquehanna River."

The Susquehanna Discovery Center & Heritage Park will include a visitor center in the site's historic barn complex, including heritage exhibits, program space, silo lookouts, a gift shop, a cafe and offices, Platts shared. "In addition to historical exhibits, dedicated gallery space will feature over three centuries of Susquehanna-inspired art and illustration highlighting the river's scenic beauty and commercial appeal," he said. "The Mifflin House will be renovated as a place for learning about our region's role in the Underground Railroad, with an interpretive trail to the river tracing the historic route of those seeking freedom."

A project of this size will take time to complete, he noted, adding that Hellam Township and Wrightsville Borough have approved installation of initial public access improvements by this summer. "These facilities will be open on a limited basis for scheduled programs and tours at the site while other planning and development work takes place," Platts commented, adding that the long-term process will include public input on the project as work is completed over the next five-plus years.

He encourages people to get involved in supporting the project, whether it's taking part in the master plan process, joining programs and tours after initial access improvements are ready or donating funds for the project, which is estimated to cost up to $18 million over the next five to eight years. "This project started with local grassroots support for saving the Mifflin House and farm, so we hope that strong local support will continue as we advance the project over the next few years," Platts said.

He emphasized that SNHA has relied on partners to get this project going, including TCF, Preservation PA, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the County of York and private donors in the Powder Mill, Warehime and Glatfelter foundations.

To make a donation to the project, visit https://susqnha.org. To view the concept plan for the project, visit https://susqnha.org/about-us/studies-reports/.