Sewickley Heights' Wilpen Hall preserved as historic estate

When the doors open to Wilpen Hall, guests walk into a different time and place.

“Once inside, you are standing in a living piece of history,” said Martin Maines, Wilpen Hall estate manager. “It is a very special place. Wilpen Hall is a slice of Americana that once existed.”

The historic estate – which at one time encompassed nearly 100 acres in Sewickley Heights – is the last of its kind.

Finished in 1897, three generations of the Snyder family occupied the home, including current resident Verna Corey, 76, who has lived there since 2006. She was the wife of iron and steel baron William Penn Snyder III from 2007 until his death in February 2015 at the age of 96.

Snyder was passionate about preserving the estate. The couple began restoring it 16 years ago. In his will, the estate will become the property of the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh’s Strip District upon Corey’s death.

The connection to the Heinz family was a strong bond for her husband, Corey said. He felt comfortable knowing his commitment to continuing the legacy of Wilpen Hall — considered the last of the Gilded Age estates in the Sewickley Valley.

Some of Snyder’s family members had different feelings about what should happen to the estate. They filed a lawsuit in 2013, which has since been settled, Corey said.

She’s been focused on carrying out the desire of the couple to preserve as much of the original design, furniture, windows and stone structures as possible.

Without Maines, the estate could not have survived as well as it has, Corey said.

Maines knows every inch of the grounds.

“Wilpen Hall gets in your soul, and as a carpenter wanting to restore things, helping to preserve this beautiful place is my passion,” Maines said. “When you are young, this is what you dream about.”

The historic home has eight bedrooms and six bathrooms. There’s a massive great room, a billiard room and a morning room, perfect for enjoying breakfast. There is an elevator.

The formal dining room table can accommodate 24 people. The decorative French china adds a unique charm to the room.

The great room houses a Steinway piano. A gorgeous rug was rewoven in Iran.

“This was definitely a house for entertaining,” Corey said. “The acoustics are superb. We’ve had opera singers perform here and the ballet danced on the balcony. It was wonderful.”

Corey hosts several fundraisers yearly for non-profits, as well as a few private parties.

Some of the events take place near one of many luscious gardens, which have been showcased on the Sewickley Garden Tour. One of the gardens has more than 95 varieties of roses. A rock garden can be found on the north side of the house. There is a 90-foot flag pole and a winged statue commissioned by Snyder’s grandparents inscribed with the French equivalent of “Hard Work Pays Off.” The estate had two pools – indoor and outdoor — that are now dormant.

At one time, Wilpen Hall employed more than 30 employees to care for the house and grounds. It was a working farm.

The name Wilpen is a contraction of William and Penn. His great-grandfather was a minister and taken by stories of William Penn being kind and fair, Corey said. He named his first son William Penn and it kept going to William Penn Snyder VI.

Wilpen Hall was constructed as a summer estate for the original owners, William Penn Snyder and his wife Mary Cuddy Black Snyder.

About half of the acreage has been gifted to Sewickley Heights, part of which is being used for the Fern Hollow Nature Center.

Corey said her husband wanted to preserve the estate, especially since none of the surrounding Gilded Age estates remain.

The home is registered with the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. Corey is a board member there and at the Heinz History Center. She is also vice president of the Sewickley Valley Historical Society.

“Wilpen Hall captures the essence of Gilded Age estates built by Pittsburgh’s iron and steel industrialists during the late 1800s, and for this reason, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places,” said Andy Masich, president and CEO of the Heinz History Center, via email. “What makes it all the more remarkable is that the original furnishings, carriages and outbuildings are all intact and in an amazing state of preservation. It was the intent of the late William Penn Snyder III to donate Wilpen Hall, the carriage house, gardens and historically significant collections, along with funds to preserve them, to the Senator John Heinz History Center.”

Part of the movie “Foxcatcher” was filmed at Wilpen in 2012. Corey said her husband was not interested in movies but was intrigued by the technical aspects of the production.

The stained glass at the main entrance was restored and reinstalled last month by Hunt Glass.

The hallway in the entrance has recently been completely restored with new plaster, paint and wallpaper, and the floors have been sanded.

“We’ve worked so hard to keep things period appropriate,” Corey said.

The paintings throughout the house are of family. There is a portrait of Mary Cuddy Black Snyder, Snyder’s grandmother, inside the home. It was painted by the well-known artist Madame Shoumatoff.

Colorful art by Corey’s husband brightens the butler’s pantry. The kitchen is original.

Guests will spot several details of pheasants. There are iron and steel mementos. One of the most cherished keepsakes connects Snyder to the late President John Kennedy, who was a classmate of Snyder’s at Choate Rosemary Hall, a private boarding school in Connecticut.

They sailed together, and Kennedy told Snyder he would come to Wilpen Hall after a trip to Dallas.

The loss of Kennedy, as well as Sen. John Heinz in 1991, was tough for Snyder, Corey said.

One of her favorite memories of her husband is when the two would fill mugs they bought from their expansive travels with milk and would enjoy graham crackers before bed. They would reminisce about the trips they took to those places and all the memories.

“My husband was a wonderful man,” said Corey. “That’s why I want to do everything I can to preserve Wilpen. I love walking the trails here. It’s like having your own private park. You can walk for a long time. One of the things I am always amazed at about Wilpen is the looks on visitors’ faces when they first arrive.”

The main abode isn’t the only place that mesmerizes visitors.

The carriage house is original. It houses several horse-drawn carriages, some dating back to the 1890s, such as the favorite of Mary Cuddy Black Snyder. There are photos of her driving her favorite carriage. The rugs in the carriage house were sent to Pakistan for repair.

“When you open those doors to the carriage house, you are back in 1897,” Maines said. “Take one step in and you definitely step back in time. That’s the magic of Wilpen.”