The Industrial Archives & Library (IAL) announced recently that it had received a significant donation of property on Santee Mill Road in Bethlehem, PA.
Stephen G. Donches, the President & CEO, stated that the IAL’s mission is “to collect, organize, and conserve the industrial history records while being able to make them available to researchers, academics, professionals, and the public.”
According to a press release, the property was acquired by donation from S.H. Cumings and is located on the north slope of Camel’s Hump along Santee Mill Road in Bethlehem. It includes eight structures, including a 1927 Tudor-style Main House, a 1775 farmhouse, two Barns, Stables, and several other buildings. Much of the site is composed of forested areas and greenspace, which in accordance with deed covenants, will remain in its natural state and undisturbed.
The property was first owned by the first mayor of Bethlehem, Archibald Johnston. The IAL property has been operated by the Johnston family and subsequent owners as a working farm and gentleman’s estate for over a century.
Steve Donches, IAL President and CEO noted that, “The property is in outstanding shape, both from the standpoint of the exteriors and the interiors.”
The existing structures on the property will have modified interiors to accommodate the specialized archival needs. However, essential to the continuing growth and longtime viability of the IAL, the organization is planning to construct an archival processing and preservation facility on the site that will be the headquarters of the Industrial Archives & Library’s daily operations.
As it’s designed and built to match the existing barn-like building and color of the large Pennsylvania German-style bank barn on the site, the new structure would house archival activities that would be in harmony with the existing property. The new layout would provide a complete archival program.
“It’s a good opportunity to keep the history of the Industrial America alive, and we find that there’s a growing interest as time goes on. We’re now in business for 10 years, since January 1 of 2015. Our vision is that in a couple of years, we’ll have a facility that will be fully occupied, using most or all of the buildings on the site as part of the operation, although there would be one new building that we would add that would look exactly like a barn on the site.”
“One of the important things about the property is it is a gorgeous property. Looks like the farm that it was for many years. And what our intent is, the activity of preserving records is similar to preserving the land on the site and so that we will work in harmony to apply all the benefits that we have and capability to make sure that land will look the same for many years to come.”
Kenneth R. Smith, Chairman of IAL’s Board of Trustees, noted that, “The property’s size, character and proximity to the Monocacy Creek make it one of the most important parcels in the City of Bethlehem composed of wooded forest land and greenspace. Donation of the property and the preservation plans IAL has for it will secure the natural quality and beauty of the site, while saving its lands for generations to come.”
The Vision of the IAL is to gradually relocate all its archival operations at the Santee Mill Road facility.
“Because of our nonprofit status, we're able to concentrate not only on the collections that we have, we'll also be caring for the property so that it continues to be of the highest quality environmental property.”
Donches mentioned they will have one building, structured as a barn like building that will be built, and will serve as the General Operations Headquarters for Industrial Archives and Library, and other buildings on the site would have smaller roles, such as conservation work.
“One of the buildings on the site would become a conservation lab that would prepare the newly acquired collections for the next step of processing and eventually, for total preservation.”
Donches stated that according to the Comprehensive Plan from 2008, there will be no change in the amount of traffic that occurs on Santee Mill Road. Being a two-lane road and country road, the IAL will only have between 6-10 people working there at all times, and that would be the amount of activity created by their people coming and going.
Donches stated that there’s a farmhouse on the site that would serve as a caretaker’s area, and the two barn-like structures.
“And as far as the library and researchers are concerned, people who have an interest in something that they want to look up have to try to make an appointment with us, and we will be happy to accommodate people if we have the material they might be interested in.”
The Archives celebrated its tenth anniversary on January 1st of this year and has seen its collections expand significantly in recent months. “We are grateful for this donation that over time will enable IAL to realize its vision of becoming one of the leading independent industrial archives in the country,” said Donches.
