Craighead House as viewed from Old York Road
Craighead House is historic for its architecture but more so for what happened within its walls and on its grounds. A bit of that history can be found in Summer of the Falcon by Jean Craighead George. Unfortunately, extensive repairs are required to save the house. Craighead House Committee, headed by Drs. David Masland and Johnson Coyle, needs to raise a significant amount of money to complete the purchase of the house and for the repairs. Consider becoming a Friend of Craighead House.
Please help us acquire and preserve Craighead House.
Donate any amount.
OR
Send a tax-deductible contribution to:
Craighead House Committee Corp.
P. O. Box 335
Boiling Springs, PA 17007
Thank you for your support!
Jean Craighead George was a marvelous author and I have enjoyed & bought many of her books. Never knew she was from Carlisle and find that so exciting as I have family who live there. I wish you much success in the restoration of the home and will do what I can to contribute, how ever little it be.
Thank you so much for your marvelous project.
Please call Steve’s Tile Service. Am interested in helping with Craighead house project. 717-258-1550
I’ve loved Jean’s books over the years. I live just down the road, so I would love to see you succeed in this mission. You should look at having a falconry class to add funds and tie in with the family. I was in the UK a few months ago and to do a 1-2 hour class just to do bare basics was several hundred dollars.
We are looking forward to including falconers and falconry in the near future. Are you a member of an organization, or do you know of an organization who might be interested in having a display or a room in the Craighead House?
We had a great Press Conference yesterday and unveiled our new signs on the front lawn. Craighead House. SAVE IT NOW. We are off and running now!
Any thoughts of having an open house-like tour so people can feel the history and enthusiam of saving this historic building? Maybe a donations box set out or at least maybe more interest generated by doing this?
The condition of the house doesn’t permit opening it to the public yet. We do give people tours on an as-requested basis but weather conditions and short daylight hours limit our ability to guide people through the house this time of year. If you want to see the house, send us an email. Thank you for your interest.
I’m glad to see something being done with this house. What are the plans once finished?
Thank you for your interest, Tom. Current plans are for the house and grounds to be used for conservation, environmental, historical, and writing organizations for their offices, meetings, classes, and events. The Craigheads have a long history in Cumberland County, having arrived here over a decade before the county was formed. The Craighead naturalists who occupied this house were also teachers, writers, hunters, fishermen, and falconers. So, the list of possible uses is quite long due to the Craigheads’ diverse interests. And we mustn’t forget the house’s architectural significance and its relationship to the development of the railroad and iron industry.
Thank you for your interest, Tom. Current plans are for the house and grounds to be used for conservation, environmental, historical, and writing organizations for their offices, meetings, classes, and events. The Craigheads have a long history in Cumberland County, having arrived here over a decade before the county was formed. The Craighead naturalists who occupied this house were also teachers, writers, hunters, fishermen, and falconers. So, the list of possible uses is quite long due to the Craigheads’ diverse interests. And we mustn’t forget the house’s architectural significance and its relationship to the development of the railroad and iron industry.
Please tell me about the artwork on the walls. And please explain exactly where this house is.
Did Twig visit the house when she was a child?
I did not realize until today there was a Craighead House. Good luck in your endeavor to purchase and restore it. Janet Copping, Alaska
Charles Cooper Craighead built this late Victorian house for his bride, Agnes Miller, in 1886. After their deaths in the mid-1920s, their children and grandchildren used the house for vacations and holidays. Frank Jr., John, Jean, Sam, and Bill spent all their growing up summers here. Nancy, Barbara, Ruth Ann, and Jim visited here as often as possible. The house was built along the Yellow Breeches Creek on Old York Road at Craighead Station, Pennsylvania between Boiling Springs and Route 34 (Holly Pike). Twig surely visited here as a child and at other times, such as her mother’s 80th birthday celebration. She was here in November. Jean, her relatives, friends, and visitors to the house painted directly on the plaster walls in the kitchen beginning in the early 1930s. Photographs of the kitchen artwork are posted on this site. We have purchased the house. Our challeneges now are raising the money to pay the mortgage and to restore it.
Thanks for your reply. I suggest you have a FB page. I would think there would be a lot of Greeleyites who would like to donate to your project. I know I will be because Jean and her wonderful children were so much a part of our lives in Chappaqua.
Thank you very much for your donation! Our treasurer is out of town this week but will get your IRS letter out to you next week.
Our Facebook address is: https://www.facebook.com/#!/craighead.house?fref=ts
Thanks again.
Hello Craighead crusaders! I have admired this home from Old York Road since moving to Pine Road in 2008. I have been very curious about the home and it’s fate. I’m very happy to see it on the road to recovery! I’d love to see the home if you are making any tours available to the public! I have already submitted my information to become a volunteer. Thank you and continued success! Julie Quigley