The failure of youth hostels in two state parks in Bucks County
I remember the joy of overnighting at youth hostels in Europe in the 1970s. Most memorable was the Rotstock-hutte, an idyllic Swiss dormer at the foot of an Alpine pass we backpackers had to cross to catch the train to Zermatt and the Matterhorn. Lodging and meals were cheap. The clientele was youthful like us from the University of Florida. Bunks lined the open second floor. Dinner was communal on the patio at an elevation of 6,700 feet where snow-capped peaks encircled us in splendor. Polka music, the setting sun, conversation with fellow travellers and wine passing around was a reverie. Then off to bed. At 2 a.m., the innkeeper toting a lantern woke us to begin our trek over the pass on crusty snow before the sun melted it.
On moving to Bucks County after college, it warmed my soul to learn youth hostels existed in Tyler State Park in Northampton and Nockamixon State Park in Richland. In their wisdom, officials converted two farmhouses into inexpensive lodging for weary backpackers and cyclists. Welcome mats went out in the 1960s.
As the years rolled by, visitors posted public comments via Hosteling International. Among them is this from a mother-daughter biking duo from New York at Tyler Youth Hostel in 2007: “Dark nights with only the sounds of night birds. Horse paths with affordable horse rentals nearby. A covered bridge. We felt we had found such a magical secret place that I hesitate to submit this. If people find out, they may not have room next time I want to remember what silence sounds like or how the full moon looks over a foggy forest.”
Weisel Youth Hostel is another picturesque manse. A Jewish tailor fleeing antisemitism in Russia bought the 12-acre property in the mid-1800s. There he built a European-style stone house and barn. In 1960, descendants sold the property to Bucks for a hostel eventually absorbed by Nockamixon park.
Today both hostels are closed and unoccupied as my family and I discovered in November. At Weisel, county taxpayers covered costly upkeep for 50 years. So costly the facility in 2019 to become part of Nockamixon park. Since then, state officials have entertained leasing the building for public use without success. A similar fate overtook the Tyler hostel. According to park superintendent Phil Schmidt significant mold had infiltrated the house plus attached hostel annex which had to be demolished. Structural problems hampered the remaining house. Correcting them and re-grading the property to redirect groundwater away would cost upwards of $80,000.
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“That’s money we didn’t have,” explained Phil. “We asked the state to cover the cost and they said ‘No’. At park management meetings, the idea of demolishing the house came up. Again the state said ‘No’ because of its history.”
John Twining built the two-story farmhouse in 1770. It remained in his family until 1872 when Theodore Solly acquired it. In 1919, Philadelphia banker George Tyler and wife Stella bought it and added the guest annex (future hostel). For 10 years the couple expanded their estate to more than 2,000 acres and constructed their grand French-Norman mansion on a bluff overlooking Neshaminy Creek. In 1930, they moved in and hosted lavish parties and fox hunts.
After the couple’s passing, most of the estate became Tyler State Park in 1964. The mansion became the administrative headquarters of Buck County Community College. The Solly/Tyler home remains closed. “We’ll basically take care of the grounds until we can raise enough money to pay for improvements,” said Phil.
The Weisel home seems in much better shape. It looks like it could open tomorrow if hosteling could sustain the cost of upkeep. But that seems unlikely in an era where few youth hostels exist in America. In my view, the U.S. is no Europe with inexpensive mass transit and well-run and advertised hostels just about everywhere. There are cultural issues as well. Americans don’t embrace communal lodging and dining like Europe. Sad.
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Sources include “History of Tyler State Park” by Brian Rounsavill published in 2021 by the Newtown Historical Association, and “Weisel Youth Hostel is sadly crumbling” published on Aug. 26, 2021 in the Bucks County Herald.
Carl LaVO can be reached at carllavo0@gmail.com
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: The failure of youth hostels in two state parks in Bucks
