The Coryell House (AKA, Havana)

A notable structure in New Hope with a most interesting history is located at 105 S. Main Street, now housing Havana restaurant, bar, and concert venue. This location is said to have been the home of John Coryell (1730-1799) in the mid 1700’s. John was the son of early ferry operator Emmanuel Coryell who died in 1748 and willed the New Jersey side of the ferry to his son, Abraham. In 1764 Abraham’s brother John Coryell bought the ferry rights on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River from John Wells. At the time of the American Revolution, both sides of the river were known as Coryell’s Ferry. 

 

New Hope Historical Society (NHHS) Beyond the Door volunteers recently met with Havana owner, Mark Stevens, who provided a tour and information on the recent history of the property. A review of records in the NHHS archives provided additional relevant insight, as did literature including A Hot Bed of Secession: New Hope and the Civil War by Joseph F. DiPaolo, and History of Bucks County by William Watts Hart Davis. 

 

The portion of the building that is to the rear or west of the structure underwent some construction in recent years and Mr. Stevens reports that wooden pegs serving as nails were discovered there. That is suggestive that this is an older section, perhaps dating to the days of John Coryell. When viewing the structure from the street, the part of the building that rises three stories on the northern end was likely built in the mid-1830s by Daniel Parry, younger brother of the mill owner Benjamin Parry, known as "the father of New Hope". It was then purchased by Lewis Slate Coryell (1788-1865), grandson of John Coryell. 

Lewis Slate Coryell is a very interesting character in the history of New Hope. He was born In Coryell’s Ferry (later Lambertville), NJ in 1788. NHHS archive records show he was involved in building and owning multiple New Hope properties. In addition, with Joseph Murray, Coryell had a lumber mill and was involved in the local construction of the Delaware Canal. Interestingly the canal ran through the rear of his property on Main Street making him potentially a beneficiary of canal-related funds as both a contractor and landowner. 

 

In the above-mentioned book by Joseph DiPaolo, the author notes that New Hope was “solidly democratic” in the 1860 presidential election casting only 87 of 213 votes for Abraham Lincoln. During the war, Lewis Slate Coryell was one of the Northern democrats who were not sympathetic to the Union’s prosecution of the Civil War. Coryell was twice elected to one-year terms as burgess (mayor) of New Hope during the war. When the governor of Pennsylvania called for militia recruits at the time of the threatened incursion of Lee’s troops into Gettysburg, Coryell is quoted in the local press as telling his townsmen to stay home and tend to their crops. At his last New Hope council meeting on March 3, 1864, minutes reflect he said that the war “…has assumed gigantic proportions and has afforded the administration pretext to assume for military necessity despotic rule to deprive our citizens of the benefit of our common inheritance in the constitution and protection of the laws…”

 

In the home of Lewis Slate Coryell, we find multiple period architectural elements. There are third-floor dormers, and windows are mullioned sash with small glass panes. Original front parlor floor-length windows are still evident from inside the north end of the restaurant seating area (see photos below). In addition, original molding can be seen. Recent interior modifications expanded first-floor fireplaces while incorporating their authentic stones in the expansions.


At a landing between the 2nd and 3rd floors is access to a “secret room” that legend says may have served as a hiding spot on the underground railroad. Additional legend asserts that Coryell family friend Aaron Burr hid there after his duel with Alexander Hamilton, though at this point there is no known documentation of that other than modern-day media articles. Moreover, John Coryell died in 1799, while the Burr-Hamilton duel was in 1804. Our records do not reflect who owned the property in 1804 (perhaps Daniel Parry), but Lewis Coryell did not acquire the property until 1834 and would have been only 16 in 1804 at the time of the Burr-Hamilton duel. 


Third-floor space dating to the 1830s is used as a dressing room for the Havana entertainers that have included Ray Davies of The Kinks, Dr. John, Rick Derringer, Blues Traveler, Eddie Money, Steve Forbert, Denny Laine of Wings, Robby Krieger of The Doors, and dozens of others. Signatures of multiple performers are covering the walls and ceiling of the dressing room. 

 

What was created as a residence underwent multiple modifications including modern additions to the south and west and change to commercial use in the late 1970s. Havana opened in 1978, and at various points, parts of the property were also occupied by a clothing store, a hairdresser, residential apartments, and a dentist's office. Today the entire property is occupied by Havana. 

This business has passed through the hands of several owners, with Mark Stevens arriving as a barback in 1993. He became part owner in 2002 and full owner in 2008. A founder of Havana, Joe Luccaro, remains locally active and is now an owner of the 1740 House and HollyHedge Estate. One server, Greg Lane, has worked for Havana since 1979-1980, and his boss Mark Stevens believes that may well make Greg the longest continuing working server in New Hope. Several other nearby New Hope venues opened within a few years of the founding of Havana, and approximately 50 years later all are still in operation today: Karla’s, John & Peter’s, and Fran’s. 

 

Mark reports mysterious events have occurred making him believe the property may be haunted. Such events have included lights flipping on and off on their own, and multiple office phones ringing late at night, with no one on the line upon answering. No ghosts have yet been seen or heard. 

 

NHHS archival photos show a streetside Highways of History sign calling attention to the Coryell House. That sign is no longer present and its whereabout is uncertain. Decorative grillwork that once framed the residence’s front porch has been incorporated and supplemented with matching grills around a more recent front porch-covered addition. 

 

Remarkable interior photos from 1960 augment the NHHS archives for 105 South Main Street. During our visit with Mark Stevens, he reported details of wallpaper in those photos reflect wallpaper found under paneling during recent restaurant renovations. Mrs. Ethel Grange Neale lived there from the 1930s to the 1960s. Her home was decorated in Victorian splendor including family heirlooms. 

 

Local resident and NHHS volunteer, David Newhart, recalls visiting there as a young child in the 1950s when most of South Main Street was still residential. Then Mrs. Neale would have been in her 80’s. David recalls formal gardens to the south of the home, while beyond those was the home of future NHHS member Francis Curley and family. In the photos below, note the front windows that still exist in the same location with the original framing in the restaurant today. 


Many thanks to owner Mark Stevens for his generosity in sharing his historic property with us. Also, many thanks to NHHS historian, Roy Ziegler and Board Member Bobbi Cross and her husband, Jim, for their contributions and review of this article.

 

The members of the Archives Team involved in this project are Nicole Hudson, Archivist and the following volunteers:

 

Michelle Gunnells

Sandie Mines

Tom Lyon

Tom Williams

Beyond The Door

Methodists, Marsha Brown, and Oldstone Steakhouse

April 13, 2025
April 14, 2025 One of the most prominent buildings in New Hope today is found at the current location of the Oldestone Steakhouse . For 125 years it was the home of the New Hope Methodists, under various names including the New Hope Methodist Episcopal and New Hope United Methodist Church. The history of this building is intertwined with the history of New Hope and helps inform us about how societal trends impacted our community. To prepare this article, volunteers from the New Hope Historical Society met and toured the building with current Oldestone owner/partner, Michael Sklar. They also spoke with Walter Jennings who was born while his father pastored the church in the 1940’s. Rev. Joseph F. DiPaolo was also interviewed. He was pastor of the church from 1992 to its last service on Main Street in 1999 and was the first pastor after it then moved to Aquetong Road in Solebury. Rev. DiPaolo wrote lengthy and well-documented histories (1,2) of Methodism and other religious entities in New Hope and nearby areas covering the years 1818-2003. These sources, coupled with the archives of the New Hope Historical Society, provided the content of this article. Rev. DiPaolo writes in his book that in the early years of Bucks County’s development, residents were largely Quakers, with a local meeting house built on Sugan Road in Solebury by 1805. In addition to Quakers, Bucks County was home to Scots Irish Presbyterians. They formed the first New Hope Sunday school in 1818 and met in what was known then as the Academy, still standing at 129 Bridge Street. It was in the Academy that the first Methodist congregation in New Hope also met by 1818: the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church which later took the name Mt. Moriah and drew congregants from the African American community. In 1830, another Methodist group began meeting at the Sutton home on W. Mechanic Street, drawing from the White community. By 1837, a simple wood-frame church building had been built at the southwest corner of West Mechanic Street and New Street, the first such structure in New Hope. The second great awakening in America (1795-1835) was occurring and by 1845 there were 12 churches in the area of New Hope, Solebury and what was then called Lambert’s Ville. The building at 15 South Main Street was built 1873-1874 on land between the Logan House (now the Logan Inn) and the then newly constructed Crook home (now the Mansion Inn). The land was purchased for $600, having once been part of tracts owned by well-known New Hope historical figures: Richard Heath, Benjamin Canby, John Coryell, and Joseph Stockton. The church architect was James Bird, and the stone mason was Peter S. Naylor. By the time it was completed it was valued at $14,000. It replaced the Methodist church on Mechanic Street, for which no known photos exist today. A newspaper at the time reported the prior church was in a bad location and in dilapidated condition. The old Methodist cemetery still exists adjacent to the parking lot driveway from Mechanic Street to the New Hope Borough Municipal Office. Rev. DiPaolo reports that a cemetery clean-up in 1959 resulted in some gravestones not being placed in their original location.

Buttonwood Street Home was Once a Stable across Bridge Street at the Old Hip-Roof House

January 17, 2025
Buttonwood Street in New Hope is just one block north on Chestnut Street from Bridge Street. This article will focus on one home on Buttonwood, but also remark on other interesting properties nearby. The subject home on Buttonwood was once a stable located on the Bridge Street property now known as the Wedgwood Inn Bed and Breakfast. The inn is clearly visible from Buttonwood Street. At a recent visit to the property on Buttonwood the current owner related that the stable was built in 1833, and at least partially supporting that assertion was the hand-hewn post and beam construction found under the walls during modern renovations. Such construction was most common from the mid-17th to the mid-19th centuries. As stated in our earlier "Beyond the Door" article about the Wedgwood Inn, the building now housing the inn was constructed in 1870 on the stone foundation of an earlier "old hip-roof" house built in 1720. The Buttonwood property owner says the stable was moved to its current location in the 1940's or 1950's and then was used by a blacksmith, and later an upholsterer. In 1958 it was converted to a home. If the stable dates to 1833, it must have been present during the time of both the original 1720 house as well as the still extant 1870 building now housing the Wedgwood Inn. 

Parry‘s General Provisions Store

October 30, 2024
Situated directly across Main Street from New Hope Historical Society’s Parry Mansion is one of the oldest surviving buildings in New Hope, now housing several commercial ventures including Farley’s Bookshop. The New Hope Historical Society (NHHS) archives include a copy of Margaret Bye Richie’s extensive and well-documented review of historic buildings in New Hope for her 1987 academic dissertation in the University of Pennsylvania Department of American Civilization. In it, she noted that the northern portion of the building was built circa 1748 and was represented on Benjamin Parry’s 1798 map as “No. 21”, while the southern portion was built circa 1830 near the time of the canal construction. Her 1980’s conversation with local architect Donald Hedges quoted him that in 1940 a sign stating “Parry’s General Store” still hung on the building. The Parry Store was likely the first provisions store in New Hope.