On August 12, 2026, the Chadds Ford Township Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the public auction of Painter's Folly. The sale is tentatively scheduled for October/November 2026 through Max Spann Real Estate & Auction Company, with proceeds directed to the Township's Open Space Fund — the same fund used to purchase the property in 2018.
The Painter's Folly Preservation Alliance acknowledges the Board's expressed purpose to safeguard the property via conservation easements held by the North American Land Trust, which encompass the land and three building facades. As of this statement, those easements have not been finalized. The Township also contemplated a separate interior easement to be held by the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, but the prospect was ultimately rejected due to concerns about two separate organizations overseeing different aspects of the same property.
We are troubled that the Chadds Ford Township Open Space Committee — the entity most directly associated with the fund designated to receive the sale proceeds — was not notified of this agreement prior to its presentation on the Board's public agenda. A decision of this significance regarding a property acquired for preservation purposes deserves full transparency and the opportunity for input from the committees and residents who have diligently stewarded it.
Before the auction proceeds, we believe the public is owed clear answers to the following:
• Will the final easement documents be published and made available to prospective bidders and the public before the sale?
• Will residents have a genuine opportunity to comment on the scope of those easements before they are finalized?
• What will happen to the antiques and furnishings that remain in the house, including pieces with direct historical significance to the property?
• Now that the property is being transferred to private ownership, responsibility for funding installation of the pending PHMC State Historical Marker will fall to the new owner. Will this be communicated to prospective bidders?
• Has the Township withdrawn its $720,000 Local Share Account grant application for exterior deferred maintenance, which was submitted in January 2026, with awards expected this September?
• Has the Township withdrawn its 2023 PHMC Keystone grant of $100,000 for ADA compliance improvements, extended in September 2025? These funds, once awarded, are earmarked specifically for Painter's Folly and cannot be redirected to another project — meaning any withdrawal would mean $100,000 in state preservation funding sat unused for three years.
Painter's Folly was purchased with public funds earmarked for open space, conservation, and passive recreation use. We urge the Board of Supervisors to finalize and publicly release all easement terms, formally engage the Open Space Committee, and answer these outstanding questions well in advance of the October/November sale date. We will continue to monitor this process and share updates as they become available.
Painter's Folly Preservation Alliance