Dr. Arthur Ricker, a beloved and prominent New Hope physician and history buff, was concerned. The recently enacted Interstate Highway Act of 1956 would soon direct tens of thousands of vehicles to within 10 miles of his historic community. How would the expected massive influx of vehicles and visitors impact his town? The 1955 flood devastated the New Hope community, adding further urgency to the need for preserving its architectural treasures.
Assembling a group of his friends and community leaders, Ricker met regularly to discuss plans to address the anticipated dramatic changes. On June 25, 1958, the New Hope Historical Society was born.
Speaking at an early function of the historical society, Dr. Ricker described the essence of its mission, “Look about you. In all directions you see physical structures inherited from past generations. But there is more to this inheritance than stone, brick and frame buildings; there is an undefinable something that embraces one’s mind and spirit with a warm feeling of graciousness, reverence, humility and pride in what we call our historical heritage. It is this inheritance that we want to conserve and pass on to future generations.”
In its first year, the fledgling community organization restored the exterior of the 1790 English-style Parry Barn and totally renovated the interior space. Leasing the barn to a local artist helped raise funds for the society’s ensuing projects. Keeping in mind Dr. Ricker’s reverence for the town’s historical heritage, the society initiated a New Hope Arts Festival and a lecture series featuring topics from various periods of New Hope’s history. Renowned artist Edward Willis Redfield was an early speaker tracing the growth of the New Hope School of impressionist painters and their work. Other speakers chronicled the importance of the Bucks County Playhouse in the town’s development.
Later, in 1966, the society installed historical markers around town describing a dozen historic buildings, and restored the 1891 Frank Furness-designed, Victorian New Hope train station. A few months later, when the Georgian-style Parry Mansion went on the market, Dr. Ricker and the board negotiated the purchase with Margaret Parry Lang, the fifth Parry generation to have resided there. Charles Lamar, noted interior designer and architect, generously designed the interior of all 10 rooms in the mansion, representing five generations of history from 1875 to 1900. Seven years and a quarter million dollars later, the Parry Mansion, fully renovated, opened its doors for tours. Dr. Ricker’s vision was becoming reality.
Sadly, his untimely death in 1981 ended the 65-year-old advocate’s work on behalf of the town he loved, having served as the historical society’s first president from 1958 to 1962, and again from 1972 through 1978. Dr. Ricker’s mission has continued through 19 presidents and boards that have succeeded him. Under Frank Policare, the its current president, the New Hope Historical Society has vastly increased walking tours and enhanced museum tours.
A recent environmental conservation project will preserve the Parry Mansion’s grounds and a new trail leading around the mansion’s property will recount the history of the surrounding area over the past two centuries. Lectures have been expanded to include Civil War Reenactors, a Benjamin Franklin emulator, Native American topics, an African American exhibit, classical and jazz music, and art appreciation to name just a few.
On Sept. 21, the New Hope Historical Society will host its 65th Annual Dinner at Riverhouse at Odette’s. Dr. Arthur Ricker’s passion to preserve the reverence and pride in New Hope’s unique history is alive and growing because of the continued generosity of the New Hope area community’s support of the historical society’s mission.
Roy Ziegler is the New Hope Historical Society’s historian and a member of its board of directors.
“Heralding Our History” is a weekly feature. Each month, the Herald delves into the history of one of its towns.
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