Deal to save midstate tavern some tie to Bill of Rights is off

(Silver Spring Township, Cumberland County) — It’s been a tortured year for a historic building in the midstate.

The saga to preserve Captain Bell’s Tavern – linked by some to the creation of the Bill of Rights – just took another turn.

The deal to save the tavern is off.

Developer Triple Crown Corporation was supposed to take another piece of property, which would be re-zoned, in exchange for giving the Bell Tavern to a nonprofit preservation group in Cumberland County.

But before that could happen, power company PPL bought the land that was supposed to be used as compensation.

Christine Musser with the Bell Tavern Association says Triple Crown is now offering the building for $450,000, but adds her group doesn’t have that kind of money.

She says she’s concerned about whether the partially demolished tavern will survive the winter.

“Our hope is still to save the tavern. In a lot of ways, we feel like we’re the Robert Whitehills and the Anti-Federalists fighting to preserve something that is an American symbol of our liberties,” says Musser.

Musser says they’re hopeful the developer will be willing to work with them to save the building.

“It’s very disheartening because it’s an American symbol for our United States Constitution and for the Bill of Rights,” she adds.

The Tavern saga first started when Silver Spring Township approved demolition of the building, without knowledge of its historic status.

A call to Mark DiSanto at Triple Crown Corporation wasn’t returned.

An earlier version of this story said that PPL used eminent domain to acquire the land. In fact, it purchased the land from the private owner without using eminent domain.