The Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County, steward of the Stevens & Smith Historic Site, has confronted and overcome significant obstacles as it sought to bring the site’s great potential to the attention of the Lancaster community.

Original plans for a new downtown hotel/convention center called for demolishing the last known significant historic properties directly related to Stevens and Smith. Fortunately, the Trust possessed protective easements on these properties, and developed an effective master plan for preserving them. Not only was the Trust able to save the buildings from the wrecking ball, it also convinced local developers and the community that the site could be transformed into an exciting educational and interpretive complex that would attract both local residents and tourists, and contribute to the revitalization of downtown Lancaster.

However, several challenges remain:

1. While Thaddeus Stevens was a household name in his era, most Americans are no longer familiar with the man, his accomplishments and his impact on the country. A concerted marketing effort to “rediscover” and build interest in Stevens and his link to the modern Civil Rights Movement and free public education must underpin the effort to create the educational and interpretive complex that honors him. An important first step was the inclusion of a chapter on Stevens in the book Kings of the Hill: How Nine Powerful Men Changed the Course of American History, co-authored by Vice President Richard Cheney and his wife Lynn, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
2. The site’s four existing historic structures have been altered quite dramatically over the years, and required careful restoration during Phase I of the project. In addition, few actual possessions of Stevens and Smith exist (and his papers are housed elsewhere), so telling their story must rely substantially on modern interpretive technology. Interactive exhibits and programs must help link Stevens’ and Smith’s accomplishments, and the context in which they occurred, to the modern day freedoms enjoyed by Americans.
3. The recently excavated converted cistern on the site is a priceless archaeological discovery that provides tangible evidence linking Stevens, and probably Smith, to the Underground Railroad. However, preserving the cistern – and the archaeological site surrounding it – adds to the cost of the project, and must be carried out in a way that will spark significant interest and attract more visitors.
4. A series of ongoing educational programs must be developed in order to make the site a lively, informative and entertaining destination for multiple visits.
5. Phase I of the project has been successfully completed at a cost of $7.6 million, which restored the facades of the Stevens and Smith properties and created rough interpretive and educational space all within the footprint of the new Lancaster County Convention Center complex. Now we must complete the outfitting of that space and create interactive exhibits and programming that will effectively tell their story and leave a lasting impression of their legacy on American and the world. This second phase is estimated to cost almost $10 million.

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of the Stevens and Smith Historic Site, however, is that Lancaster, a small city, is taking on the creation and support of a major educational interpretive complex similar in scope and quality to those found in larger urban areas such as New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington D.C. It is vital that the new complex not only attracts the attention and support of local residents, but also appeals to outside visitors as an exciting and compelling destination.