A 19th-century place in Pennsylvania, US, known as the Hood Mansion, is up for sale at no cost, but there’s a catch. The future buyer will be expected to relocate the entire 17-room, eight-fireplace home from its current foundation to a new location. Built-in 1834 by Irish immigrant John McClellan Hood, the mansion has a rich history, as it was once used as a refuge for escaping slaves through its Underground Railroad tunnels during the early 1800s. Originally established by Hood after starting his grocery business, now, moving this piece of history comes with a hefty price tag, as the estimated cost could reach up to $700,000 (approximately Rs 5 crore) and $1 million (approximately Rs 8 crore).
Reportedly, the mansion has been abandoned since 2008, but it has deteriorated as every window is shattered and doors are open. Surprisingly, the property remains unoccupied due to its isolated location. Despite being in a worse condition, the 5,000sq ft. property is “rock solid.” As per the Instagram post, it has “Chestnut floors, oak beams, solid brownstone construction. You’ll be hard-pressed to find another home built as well as this is.”
Eastern Pennsylvania Preservation Society (EPPS) President Tyler Schumacher told the Philly Voice, “Renovations would probably come in around $400,000 (approximately Rs 3 Crore). It’s not in as bad of shape as it looks. There’s a lot of vandalism, but structurally the building is very sound. It’s a very prime piece of real estate. They built the Hood Mansion as their summer home to escape yellow fever during the summer months in Philadelphia. They had an incredible collection of antique furniture and books that were housed in the mansion and they would come out every summer.”
“As fate would have it, he ended up passing away from yellow fever. His parents had his body shipped back to the Hood Mansion, and they had him buried and erected a monument in his honour,” Schumacher explained.
According to reports, relocating the Hood Mansion in its current condition would take almost one to two months. However, if the decision is made to rip the property and rebuild it elsewhere, the process would be more complex.
The Hood Mansion belonged to the Hood family until the late 1980s when it was sold at auction to new owners. Despite ambitious intentions to transform the estate into a country club and later a casino, these plans never became a reality.
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