About Preservation Williamsport

Preservation Williamsport is dedicated to preserving and protecting Williamsport’s architectural heritage.

In recent years the Millionaires Row Historic District has seen a significant increase in the interest to preserve and restore this historically sensitive area.  It is now a National Register Historic District. 

A long range plan for the Millionaires Row Historic District was completed in 1989 with personal participation by members and funding by the Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce, the First Community Foundation Partnership of PA and the Rotary Club of Williamsport.  Large amounts of private money have been invested in returning former mansions which had become “boarding houses” back to private residences and professional offices. Park Place is a dramatic example of adaptive reuse while preserving architectural heritage.

With the expansion of Pennsylvania College of Technology, the Maynard Street corridor, the Streetscape Project and the new Transportation Museum, the surrounding neighborhoods are benefiting as the area transitions into a tourist destination.

The mission of Preservation Williamsport is to restore and preserve Williamsport’s rich architectural heritage, and to educate the public about the importance of preservation. The acquisition of the Rowley House was a natural adjunct.

Historic preservation provides a community with a sense of place, connecting people to their neighbors and their past. With the addition of the Rowley House Museum visitors to the area will be able to discover not only names and street addresses of the industrious generations who came before us but they will now be able to experience first hand how these millionaires lived and worked. They may view an authentic and vivid time slot of history, with original amenities still intact nearly 130 years later.

Preservation of Williamsport Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 and incorporated in 1990 when a group of preservation-minded citizens saw the need for an organization dedicated to protecting Williamsport’s rich, but endangered, historic heritage.

In 2004, a board of 10 members formed to pursue the acquisition of the Rowley House. Officers were elected and funding sources were sought. With a $75,000 grant from the First Community Foundation Partnership of PA and a large private donation from Allen and Kay Ertel, Preservation Williamsport was able to acquire the Rowley House.  All avenues to secure funds to pay for the building and to perform repairs and restoration work are being targeted. Annual membership solicitations and various fundraisers have been conducted regularly.

Please feel free to contact us if you would like additional information.