An 1870-era mansion in Lancaster, Pennsylvania has a storied history, but its latest iteration wasn’t working well, so some changes needed to be made. Clay pavers made a big difference and enhanced the park’s first impression. (All photos: Donovan Lefever)
Stauffer Mansion is a beautifully restored home on a historic estate donated to Manheim Township for use as a 16-acre public park. The mansion is the office for the Recreation and Park Planning Department and greets visitors to the park. Over the years, this entrance had deteriorated and become overgrown.
Enter Cobblestone Landscape LLC, owner and designer Donovan Lefever, and more than 3,500 square feet of Rumbled Cocoa clay pavers from Pine Hall Brick Company.
AThe existing patio and walkways between the mansion and an adjoining carriage house, which is used for recreational programs and classes, was taken up and replaced. Trees and shrubs were replaced and low-voltage landscape lighting was installed.
Brick was selected in keeping with the historic nature of the property, because it is durable enough to withstand the light vehicular use the site will require, and because the project is in a public park setting with a focus on native plant gardens and natural materials.
Lefever noted that stone walls were installed to help define the space and tie in existing stonework found on the buildings and other parts of the estate. As part of the natural design, Belgium block curbing was used as a natural stone border to complement the nearby native plants. Cast lighting – a kind of outdoor lighting designed to illuminate landscapes – was then installed to light the path and up-light various trees.
The main walk leading to the office building was made out of clay pavers, laid in a running bond pattern; with the remaining area laid in a contrasting herringbone pattern.
“This will be used mainly as a connector between two parking lots, a house that serves as a Park office building and a carriage house used for special events,” said Lefever. “The goal was to connect these four areas in a way that directs guests to the main office building.”
The site, the township, and Pine Hall Brick Company
Stauffer Mansion was built in 1870 by John Frederick Sener, president of Northern National Bank of Lancaster and senior member of the extensive coal and lumber business G. Sener & Sons. Sener’s granddaughter, Elizabeth Ludgate, willed the house, outbuildings and 16 acres of land and asked for the formation of a three-member trust to help control financing and development of the park.
Today, Stauffer Park is the Manheim Township’s signature park. The Mansion itself is registered with the Lancaster County Historic Preservation Trust and is the location of several offices and meeting rooms. The Carriage House, which has been restored, is used for various recreational programs and classes.
The park offers a formal garden, pet cemetery, four tennis courts, three basketball courts, a volleyball court, a soccer field, a lighted softball field, lighted walking/biking paths and a wide variety of specimen trees and shrubs throughout.
If Lancaster and Pine Hall Brick Company sound familiar together, it’s because the company’s pavers are often specified in that part of Pennsylvania. Not far from Stauffer Park is the Manheim Township Public Library, where the pavers are used in the Storywalk, in which pages from a story are placed at various locations for children to read; and the Lancaster Brewing Company, where an outside patio and parking lot are paved in clay pavers.