From staff reports
The non-profit Oil Region Alliance is the new owner of the historic William H. Scheide House at 221 N. Washington St. in Titusville.
John Phillips, the Alliance president, said the Titusville School Board donated the building, used as an administrative facility, to the Titusville Historical Society. In turn, the society gave it to the Alliance.
“Thanks to the progressive thinking and deep commitment to historic preservation by three organizations, this nationally significant home will gradually be restored during the next few years to its appearance when it served from 1922 until 1959 as the residence of several generations of the Scheide family affiliated with Standard Oil Company,” said Phillips.
A preservation plan for the buildings and grounds is being prepared by the Erie-based firm of Kidder Wachter Architecture & Design.
The resulting plan is anticipated to be completed by the end of November, and then the Alliance will use that information to manage and assemble funding from multiple sources to carry out the phased rehabilitation.
The alliance says the envisioned long-term use for the main house is as the Scheide Cultural Preservation Center, where the first floor will become the shared offices and display area for several local nonprofit organizations as well as a satellite office for the Alliance.
Decisions about the other floors of the home and of the separate garage building will depend on the outcome of the preservation plan.
