The name Runnelside honors the small, unnamed stream that runs through our land alongside two historic, long-abandoned farm buildings: an early nineteenth-century Pennsylvania stone bank barn and a corncrib-wagon shed.
From our first visit to the property in October 2020, we imagined restoring these buildings as the center of our home and farm kitchen. The structures sit on the far side of the stream and wetlands and can only be reached by crossing the “runnel.” The landscape offered both an invitation and a challenge that we fully embraced.
The farm fields, woodlands, wetlands, and meandering stream are protected by a permanent conservation easement with Natural Lands. The proximity of the water to the aging buildings made restoration complex. For nearly a year, we worked with Natural Lands, township officials, historical and environmental commissions, and our neighbors to find a responsible path forward.
We received our building permits in September 2021. The careful restoration took several years and was completed in October 2024, turning a long-held dream into a lived reality.
